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ESSENTIALS  OF 
PUBLIC  SPEAKING 


BY 

Warren  C.  DuBois,  A.M.,  LL.B. 

Author   oj  ''Hints  for  the  Political   Speaker"; 

Contributing  Editor    United    Y.   M.   C.   A. 

Schools'    Course    in   Public    Speaking; 

Instructor  of  Public   Speaking  in 

Neiv     York     University    and 

the    Y.   M.    C.   A. 


NEW  YORK 
CHRIS.    F.    MEYER 

945  East  Third  Street 
borough  of  brooklyn 


Copyright,  1921 

by 

Warren  C.  DijBois 


D.  :^ 


ESSENTIALS  OF 
PUBLIC  SPEAKING 


595" 

'J)&l(o 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Chapter  Pace 

I.     A  Talk  with  Beginning  Speakers  9 

II.     Consider  the  Audience       ...  17 

III.     The  Purposes  of  Speaking     .     .  34 

IV.^'^Scope  of  the  Speech    ....  58 

V.     Preparing  the  Speech — Part  I    .  62 
Material 

VI.     Preparing  the  Speech — Part  II  .  69 
Arrangement 

VII.     Lines  of  Development       ...  8L 

VIII.     Questionnaire 97 

IX.     Delivery  in  General      ....  103 

X.n"^  Enunciation 108 

XL  4  Emphasis 112 

XII.-^  Pitch     . 118 

XIIL-Rate 123 

XIV.     The  Eye  of  the  Audience       .     .  127 
Posture — Carriage — Gesture 
Facial  Expression 

XV.     Memory 146 

XVL  J  Health  and  Voice 156 


\,    O  v>  Ki    i     I 


PREFACE 

Short  evening  courses  in  public  speaking 
have  become  so  popular  that  the  problem  of 
supplementing  the  work  in  the  class  room  with 
helpful  text  material  has  given  instructors 
great  difficulty.  The  average  text  book  is  too 
large  and  night  students  have  not  the  time  to 
carry  out  programs  of  selective  reading. 

The  author  has  attempted  to  fill  this  need 
by  setting  forth  in  a  brief,  concise  form  only 
the  essentials  of  the  subject.  He  does  not 
claim  for  the  work  any  originality  of  analysis; 
his  sole  aim  has  been  to  include  in  one  small 
volume  a  brief  but  comprehensive  outline  of 
the  fundamentals  of  effective  speaking  in  as 
logical  an  order  as  the  subject  permits. 

Warren  C.  DuBois. 

165  Broadway,  New  York  City, 
September  1st,  1921. 


To  HAMILTON  COLLEGE 
The  ''Home  of  Oratory" 


ESSENTIALS  OF 
PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

CHAPTER  I. 

A  TALK  WITH  BEGINNING  SPEAKERS 

Until  recently  the  ability  to  speak  in  public 
was  regarded  as  an  asset  required  only  by 
lawyers,  clergymen,  politicians  and  profes- 
sional speakers.  And  even  among  these  it 
was  often  considered  an  inherited  gift  rather 
than  something  that  could  be  acquired  or 
developed.  But  recent  years  have  shown  that 
speaking  ability  is  just  as  useful  an  art  to 
business  men  generally,  not  only  for  itself 
but  for  the  self-confidence,  poise  and  other 
by-products  that  result  from  its  study  and 
practice.  The  results  obtained  by  students 
of  short  courses  have  proved  the  theory  of 
the  old  Roman,  "Poets  are  born,  but  orators 
are  made."  Lord  Chesterfield  wrote  to  his 
son  that  every  man  of  fair  abilities  might  be 
an  orator.  The  vulgar,  he  said,  look  upon  a 
fine  speaker  as  a  supernatural  being,  endowed 
[9] 


10         ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

with  some  peculiar  gift  of  heaven.  He  him- 
self maintained  that  a  good  speaker  is  as  much 
a  mechanic  as  a  good  shoemaker,  and  that 
the  two  trades  were  equally  to  be  learned  by 
the  same  amount  of  application. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the  be- 
ginning speaker  should  approach  his  task  with 
the  proper  viewpoint.  Speaking  is  an  activity. 
Your  success  is  to  be  measured  by  your  ability 
to  do  the  very  thing  and  not  by  your  knowledge 
of  the  principles  that  underlie  it.  You  may 
master  all  the  theories  of  swimming  and  still 
be  unable  to  take  a  single  stroke.  You  might 
spend  years  on  the  study  of  rhythm,  grace 
and  expression,  and  still  be  unable  to  dance 
an  old-fashioned  waltz.  The  study  of  speak- 
ing must  be  approached  in  the  same  way  in 
which  we  begin  to  learn  to  swim  or  dance. 

Recall,  if  you  can,  the  days  when  you  were 
learning  to  swim.  You  had  a  host  of  friends 
ready  and  willing  to  enlighten  you  on  the 
mysteries  of  the  art.  Each  had  a  pet  theory 
which,  put  into  operation,  would  enable  you  to 
learn  in  a  few  minutes.  But  you  found  that 
the  novel  sensations  which  accompanied  your 


A  TALK  WITH  BEGINNING  SPEAKERS       11 

first  dips  expelled  all  the  instructions  and 
theories  given  you,  and  that  if  you  had  tried 
to  keep  in  mind  all  that  was  told  you,  you 
would  probably  get  a  mental  cramp  and 
drown.  Later,  however,  when  the  strangeness 
of  being  in  water  began  to  wear  off,  your 
mental  calm  returned  and  you  were  able  to 
try  out  some  of  the  theories  which  had  been 
advanced.  Step  by  step,  you  acquired  a  form 
until  you  suddenly  awoke  to  the  realization 
that  you  could  swim.  With  that  realization 
came  a  feeling  that  swimming  was  a  natural 
activity  and  that  if  you  had  only  had  the  self- 
confidence  in  yourself,  you  could  have  learned 
in  a  few  minutes.  You  forgot,  however,  that 
the  viewpoint  which  made  you  laugh  at  your 
slowness  in  learning  was  a  gradual  growth 
and  not  a  sudden  acquisition. 

So  with  speaking.  The  first  thing  to  be 
acquired  is  the  self-confidence  that  comes  from 
wearing  away  those  novel  sensations  that  ac- 
company your  first  attempts  on  the  platform. 
Practice  alone  will  do  it.  No  amount  of 
reading  or  study  of  principles  will  obviate  the 
necessity  of  passing  through  all  the  strange 


12         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

feelings  and  emotions  that  attend  first  efforts. 
In  the  words  of  Calvin  Leslie  Lewis,  who,  as 
head  of  the  department  of  oratory  at  Hamilton 
College,  has  probably  trained  more  successful 
speakers  than  any  other  living  instructor  of 
the  subject,  "The  only  way  to  learn  to  speak 
is  by  speaking." 

The  first  efforts  are  usually  discouraging. 
The  novelty  of  being  on  a  platform,  facing 
a  large  number  of  silent  mouths  and  eyes, 
awakens  all  sorts  of  fears  and  new  sensations. 
Each  speaker  is  inclined  to  believe  that  his 
problem  is  different  and  insurmountable. 
Whatever  the  form  your  sensations  assume, 
they  are  all  traceable  to  one  thing — lack  of 
experience.  And  with  each  additional  effort, 
they  will  decrease  and  gradually  disappear. 

Self -consciousness  and  nervousness  are  the 
most  common.  Self-consciousness  is  that  state 
of  mental  confusion  resulting  from  the  inabil- 
ity to  focus  all  of  one's  mentality  on  the  task 
at  hand.  Instead  of  concentrating  on  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  the  speech,  the  novice  divides 
his  thinking  between  the  subject  and  himself. 
Once  get  accustomed  to  the  platform  and  this 


A  TALK  WITH  BEGINNING  SPEAKERS       13 

mental  state  will  soon  give  place  to  confidence 
and  concentration. 

Nervousness  is  somewhat  different.  Antici- 
pation of  a  difficult  task  excites  the  nerves,  and 
the  nerves  in  turn  generate  more  energy  than 
can  be  consumed.  If  you  think  nervousness 
is  a  handicap,  you  are  mistaken;  it  is  your 
greatest  blessing.  Dr.  Russell  H.  Conwell, 
author  of  "Acres  of  Diamonds,"  and  one  of 
the  most  experienced  lecturers  in  the  world, 
never  speaks  without  a  preliminary  attack  of 
nervousness  that  makes  his  friends  wonder 
why  he  enjoys  the  art.  An  interesting  com- 
ment on  nervousness  was  made  to  the  author, 
and  for  the  benefit  of  men  who  think  it  is  a 
handicap  it  is  repeated  here.  An  American 
general  who  saw  service  at  the  front  in  France 
made  a  particular  study  of  various  types  of 
men  as  they  conducted  themselves  under  fire. 
One  of  his  conclusions  was  that  the  nervous 
men  are  the  steadiest  in  a  crisis  and  that  the 
so-called  "stolid"  men,  who  show  no  uneasiness 
before  going  over  the  top,  frequently  "blow 
up"  in  man-to-man  fighting.  He  explained 
the  difference  by  a  theory  which  may  not  be 


14         ESSENTIALS   OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

sound  psychologically  but  which  has  a  meas- 
ure of  truth  which  warrants  its  repetition. 

"The  nervous  boy  discovers  early  in  his 
youth  that  he  suffers  from  a  handicap  which 
must  be  considered  in  everything  he  under- 
takes. Whenever  he  acts  he  must  not  only 
expend  the  ordinary  amount  of  energy  but  he 
must  also  whip  his  will  to  stick  to  the  line  of 
action  in  spite  of  his  nervousness.  The  result 
of  this  constant  effort  is  the  development  of  a 
certain  force  of  control  which  enables  him  to 
carry  out  his  purpose  in  spite  of  his  nerves. 
A  battle  is  something  which  no  man  can  com- 
prehend until  he  is  in  it.  The  stolid  man  is 
apt  to  find  himself  in  a  situation  which  shakes 
his  composure  for  the  first  time.  And  never 
having  built  up  a  force  which  enables  him  to 
control  his  nerves,  he  is  likely  to  'go  to  pieces.' 
But  to  the  nervous  man,  it  is  merely  another 
test  of  his  strength  and  courage,  and  with  the 
aid  of  the  'antitoxin'  which  he  has  been  un- 
consciously building  up  for  many  years,  he 
comes  through." 

You  may  not  agree  with  this  theory,  but  it 
serves  a  purpose.     If  you  are  nervous,  the 


A  TALK  WITH  BEGINNING  SPEAKERS       15 

greater  is  your  need  of  speaking.  And  the 
more  you  build  up  this  "antitoxin,"  the  better 
fortified  you  will  be  not  only  in  speaking  but 
in  every  other  activity  that  requires  concentra- 
tion in  a  trying  situation. 

A  word  about  the  proper  use  of  this  or  any 
text  book.  Speaking,  like  every  other  activity, 
has  many  phases.  If  you  allow  yourself  to 
think  of  the  many  things  you  must  learn  you 
will  probably  become  as  confused  and  as  dis- 
couraged as  a  weaponless  man  in  the  middle 
of  a  den  of  wild  animals.  If  you  try  to  carry 
to  the  platform  all  the  ideas  and  instructions 
in  this  book,  you  will  get  mental  indigestion 
and  fail. 

The  aim  of  all  education  is  to  enable  the 
student  to  master  correct  principles  to  the 
point  where  they  can  be  applied  by  sub- 
conscious habit.  Your  first  speech  will  carry 
out  many  of  the  rules  herein  set  forth.  Study 
your  weaknesses  and  seek  to  overcome  them 
one  by  one.  To  undertake  too  much  at  a  time 
is  far  worse  than  to  attempt  too  little.  After 
considerable  experience  you  will  find  yourself 
applying  all  the  principles  with  little  or  no 


16         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

thought  of  them,  just  as  you  are  able  to  read 
your  morning  paper  at  breakfast  without 
thinking  of  how  to  handle  your  knife  and  fork. 

The  arrangement  of  this  book  does  not  give 
the  elements  of  speaking  in  the  order  in  which 
they  should  be  acquired.  It  simply  sets  forth 
in  as  logical  a  scheme  as  the  subject  permits 
the  essential  points  to  be  learned  and  applied. 
Read  it  with  that  in  mind. 

The  manifestations  of  progress  come  in  fits 
and  starts.  The  curve  of  achievement  re- 
sembles the  sky  line  of  a  range  of  mountains 
beginning  at  the  sea  and  ending  at  the  highest 
peak.  Between  crests  there  are  valleys  of 
depression.  After  the  beginner  enjoys  the 
first  realization  of  progress,  a  period  of  slump 
and  discouragement  is  likely  to  follow.  But 
if  he  keeps  on  he  will  get  out  of  the  valley 
and  reach  another  crest  from  which  he  can 
see  not  only  the  goal  of  his  struggle  but  the 
height  he  has  already  attained.  The  secret  of 
success  is  to  keep  faith  and  courage  when  in 
the  valley.  The  slump  is  only  imaginary. 
Every  effort  is  carrying  you  a  step  nearer 
your  goal. 


CHAPTER  II. 

CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE 

The  farmer  is  judged  by  the  satisfaction 
which  his  produce  gives  the  consumer.  The 
successful  artist  is  the  one  whose  paintings 
give  pleasure  to  those  who  observe  them.  The 
speech  that  wins  is  the  one  that  produces  in 
the  audience  the  thoughts,  ideas,  feelings  or 
emotions  which  the  speaker  experiences.  That 
is  his  goal  and  unless  his  efforts  meet  that 
test,  he  has  failed. 

A  great  many  speakers  fail  because  they 
have  neglected  to  take  into  consideration  the 
viewpoint  of  the  hearer.  Audiences  differ. 
But  they  are  all  composed  of  human  beings, 
and  all  human  beings  are  alike  in  many  ways. 
Let  us  consider  some  of  the  laws  which  con- 
trol all  minds. 

Mental  Energy 

Every  man  possesses  a  certain  degree  of 
mental  alertness.     When  he  is  asleep,  it  is  at 
[17] 


18         ESSENTIALS   OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

zero;  if  he  were  on  a  desert  plain,  standing 
alone,  defending  himself  from  wild  animals 
surrounding  him,  it  would  be  at  its  highest. 
It  fluctuates  between  these  extremes,  accord- 
ing to  the  time  of  day,  the  state  of  his  mental 
and  physical  condition,  and  the  task  on  which 
he  is  engaged.  A  lawyer  defending  a  man 
accused  of  murder  is  on  his  mental  toes,  ready 
to  spring  in  any  direction.  The  next  hour 
that  same  lawyer,  relieved  of  the  strain  of  the 
trial,  sinks  back  into  composure  and  his 
mental  motor  slows  down  to  the  point  neces- 
sary to  meet  the  less  important  problems 
which  confront  him. 

Prehistoric  man  was  ever  on  the  alert  when 
alone — wild  animals  and  hostile  tribes  com- 
pelled it.  But  when  he  joined  his  tribe,  he 
could  aff'ord  to  operate  on  fewer  mental  cyl- 
inders— he  was  safer.  Life  has  changed. 
But  we  still  show  characteristics  of  the  pre- 
historic man  when  collected  in  groups.  And 
if  that  group  is  engaged  in  a  common  pursuit, 
the  individual  consciousness  blends  with  those 
of  the  group  and  gradually  each  member 
comes  to  regard  himself  as  a  part  of  the  whole. 


CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE  19 

This  group  consciousness  decreases  the  mental 
alertness  of  the  individual  and  this  decrease 
of  mental  energy  of  the  individual  member  of 
a  crowd  explains  many  characteristics  of  an 
audience.  It  has  a  great  lesson  for  the  speaker. 
An  audience  will  not  keep  on  the  firing  line 
the  same  amount  of  mental  energy  that  it 
would  if  separated  into  individuals.  There- 
fore, if  you  would  succeed  in  getting  your 
listeners  to  think  or  act,  you  must  not  impose 
any  more  of  a  burden  on  their  mental  energies 
than  is  necessary. 

Herbert  Spencer  in  his  masterful  essay  on 
"The  Philosophy  of  Style"  reduces  all  suc- 
cessful writing  to  its  observance  of  the  law 
of  the  economy  of  the  reader's  attention. 
Whatever  may  be  the  value  of  that  theory  in 
writing,  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  it  is 
the  first  law  in  a  speaker's  success  in  so  far 
as  his  speech,  apart  from  its  delivery,  is  con- 
cerned. The  speaker  translates  his  thoughts 
and  feelings  into  language;  the  audience 
translates  that  language  back  into  thoughts 
and  feelings.  The  latter  process  must  be 
accomplished  as  the  speech  flows;  there  is  no 


20  ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

opportunity  to  go  over  and  over  the  words 
as  is  possible  in  reading.  Unless  the  audience, 
with  its  decreased  mental  energy,  can  perform 
this  act  as  the  speech  proceeds,  the  speaker 
has  failed  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  The 
task,  then,  is  so  to  frame  the  expression  as  to 
gain  the  desired  result  with  the  least  effort  on 
the  part  of  those  who  hear. 

Mental  Imagery  and  Imagination 

Hold  out  your  right  hand  and  look  at  it 
carefully  for  a  few  seconds.  Close  your  eyes 
and  try  to  recall  its  general  appearance.  With 
little  eif  ort,  you  can  see  that  hand  with  many 
of  the  details.  That  picture  which  appeared 
before  you  when  your  eyes  were  closed  was  a 
visual  image,  a  photograph  which  the  mind 
took,  developed  and  printed  while  you  per- 
ceived the  object  with  your  eyes. 

Whistle  a  few  notes  of  some  popular  song. 
Then  let  your  mind  run  over  the  same  notes. 
What  you  hear  is  an  auditory  image.  You 
recalled  the  sounds  of  your  own  voice  by 
means  of  auditory  imagery. 

Recall,  if  you  can,  the  taste  of  your  favorite 


CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE  21 

fruit.  If  you  succeed,  it  is  because  of  the 
power  of  your  gustatory  imagery.  Run  your 
finger  over  the  cover  of  this  book,  and  the 
sensation  may  be  renewed  a  few  seconds  later 
by  the  aid  of  your  tactual  imagery.  If  you 
can  enjoy  the  fragrance  of  your  favorite 
flower  after  the  scent  has  passed,  it  is  because 
you  possess  olfactory  imagery. 

We  have  completed  the  imagery  of  the  five 
senses.  There  are  others — the  imagery  of 
motion  or  motor  imagery,  thermal  imagery  or 
the  imagery  of  temperature — but  they  are 
really  parts  of  the  original  five. 

All  our  knowledge  of  the  past,  all  our 
power  of  recollection,  rests  upon  our  ability 
to  bring  up  mental  images  of  what  we  saw, 
heard,  felt,  tasted  or  smelled.  Every  impres- 
sion made  upon  our  minds  from  the  outside 
world  must  travel  by  way  of  one  or  more  of 
the  five  senses.  It  is  the  work  of  the  imagina- 
tion to  supply  these  mental  images,  which  are 
present  recollections  of  past  realities. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  imagination — pro- 
ductive and  reproductive.  To  hold  a  mental 
image  of  this  morning's  breakfast  table   is 


22         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

merely  the  work  of  reproductive  imagination. 
But  to  combine  mental  images  of  some  friend, 
a  desert  and  a  camel,  so  that  you  can  see  that 
friend  riding  on  a  camel  across  a  desert 
necessitates  productive  imagination.  Eli 
Whitney  saw  a  cat  clawing  at  a  chicken 
through  the  openings  of  the  crate.  The  space 
between  the  slats  was  too  small,  so  all  the  cat 
could  extract  was  feathers.  Later,  Whitney 
recalled  the  scene  with  these  modifications — 
instead  of  a  chicken  he  saw  raw  cotton  with 
seeds  too  large  to  pass  through  the  openings. 
This  mental  image  gave  us  the  cotton  gin — 
one  of  the  many  creations  of  the  power  of 
productive  imagination. 

We  vary  in  our  powers  of  imagination; 
some  can  recall  in  all  its  details  the  first 
circus;  some  can  return  from  a  musical  com- 
edy and  hear  again  every  lyric  in  the  score; 
there  are  men  and  women  who  can  recall  the 
taste  of  five  or  six  varieties  of  apples.  With 
the  average  individual,  the  visual  imagery  is 
the  strongest;  then  come  the  auditory  and 
tactual  imagery.  That  is  why  a  delineation 
of  a  scene  is  more  easily  appreciated  than 


CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE  23 

a  description  of  what  the  speaker  heard  or 
felt. 

Needless  to  say,  our  imagination  approaches 
but  cannot  be  greater  than  our  experiences. 
To  tell  a  native  of  Guam  that  the  Eiffel  Tower 
is  higher  than  the  Woolworth  Building  would 
be  as  futile  as  explaining  a  passage  in  Greek 
to  an  African  by  translating  it  into  Chinese. 
The  mental  images  follow  the  experiences. 
The  speaker  must  employ  only  those  which 
the  audience  can  appreciate  by  reason  of  its 
experience. 

Concrete  Language 

We  have  seen  that  in  order  to  attain  his 
goal,  the  speaker  must  express  his  thoughts 
and  feelings  in  such  a  way  that  the  audience 
will  translate  his  language  back  into  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  which  the  speaker  ex- 
periences. This  requires  not  only  accuracy 
but  also  proper  selection,  so  that  the  mental 
processes  of  the  audiences  may  be  attended 
with  the  least  expenditure  of  energy.  Without 
attempting  to  trace  the  course  of  a  sentence 
from   its   hearing   to   its   understanding   and 


24         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

assimilation,  it  should  be  stated  that  before 
any  given  language  can  register  clear  thought 
in  the  mind  of  the  recipient,  it  must  pass 
through  the  stage  of  mental  imagery.  To 
illustrate:  a  speaker  states,  "Some  animals  are 
faithful  companions."  In  order  to  get  a  clear 
understanding  of  the  speaker's  meaning,  the 
audience  starts  to  turn  the  word  "animals" 
into  some  definite  mental  image.  Some  may 
think  of  dogs,  others  think  of  horses;  some 
may  think  of  cats.  Those  who  think  of  dogs 
will  probably  attempt  to  picture  a  particular 
breed  of  dogs,  such  as  an  Irish  setter  or  a 
Newfoundland.  But  this  mental  process  re- 
quires a  certain  expenditure  of  mental  energy 
which  could  be  avoided.  Had  the  speaker 
said  "Newfoundland  dogs  are  faithful  com- 
panions," he  would  not  only  save  this  mental 
energy,  but  he  would  be  certain  that  all  got 
his  meaning.  This  illustrates  the  force  of 
calling  up  a  distinct  visual  image.  The  same 
is  true  of  other  imagery;  "sour  as  vinegar" 
means  more  than  "bitter";  "smooth  as  a 
billiard  ball"  has  more  of  an  appeal  than  the 
mere  word  "smooth";  "fragrant  as  a  rose" 


CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE  25 

requires  no  additional  thoughts  as  does  the 
expression  "sweet  smelling." 

So  much  for  words.  The  idea  which  is  set 
forth  in  concrete  rather  than  general  language, 
language  which  calls  forth  a  distinct  mental 
image,  requires  a  less  amount  of  energy  to 
understand  and  appreciate,  and  is  therefore 
the  more  effective.  Now  let  us  regard  this 
principle  from  a  larger  viewpoint — one  which 
is  concerned  with  comprehensive  ideas  rather 
than  with  single  tangible  objects. 

Inductive  and  Deductive  Thinking 

A  student  reads  the  lives  of  Washington, 
Lincoln  and  Roosevelt.  He  is  impressed  by 
the  numerous  incidents  in  the  life  of  each, 
which  indicated  great  human  sympathy.  He 
comes  to  the  conclusion  that  our  three  greatest 
presidents  were  men  of  extraordinary  human 
sympathy.  This  process  of  reasoning,  from 
particular  incidents  to  a  general  conclusion, 
is  known  as  induction,  or  inductive  reasoning. 
This  form  of  reasoning  is  very  simple;  in  fact, 
it  comes  so  easily  and  naturally  that  the  draw- 
ing of  hasty  conclusions  causes  more  pain  and 


26         ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

sorrow  than  evil  motives.  Had  the  student 
made  such  a  general  statement  to  one  who 
had  recently  read  the  lives  of  these  three  men, 
the  statement  would  immediately  call  up  the 
same  anecdotes  that  both  had  read,  and  would 
be  easily  understood  and  appreciated.  But 
suppose  the  hearer  had  not  read  biographies 
of  the  presidents,  what  would  be  the  train  of 
thought  following  such  a  statement? 

In  order  better  to  illustrate  the  principle, 
we  will  take  different  facts.  A  speaker  states, 
"The  desire  to  be  president  has  caused  more 
than  one  man  to  die  of  a  broken  heart." 
Assume  for  the  purpose  of  the  illustration  that 
a  brief  recess  enables  the  audience  to  carry 
through  the  thought.  Some  member  might 
reason  thus,  "Oh,  yes,  Daniel  Webster  aimed 
for  the  presidency  and  failure  killed  him." 
This  process  of  reasoning,  from  a  general 
statement  to  a  specific  instance,  is  known  as 
deduction,  or  deductive  reasoning.  It  is  the 
reverse  of  induction,  is  more  indefinite  in  its 
progress,  and  requires  considerable  concentra- 
tion and  mental  energy  to  perform. 

We  have  assumed  in  the  foregoing  illustra- 


CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE  27 

tion  that  the  audience  had  the  time  and  the 
necessary  knowledge  with  which  to  carry  the 
general  assertion  over  to  a  concrete  instance. 
The    average   instance   does   not   afford   this 
opportunity.     And  if  the  speaker  passes  on 
I  without  the  audience's  having  translated  the 
I  general  statement  into  a  general  illustration 
'  or  a  specific  instance,  the  statement  remains 
indefinite  and  is  cast  aside  by  the  audience 
to  make  room  for  the  ideas  which  follow. 
j      The  speaker  should  never  indulge  in  ab- 
I  stract  statements  without  supporting  them  with 
general  illustrations  or  specific  instances.  And 
a  better  rule  is  to  state  your  concrete  facts 
,  first  and  then,  if  necessary,  confirm  the  con- 
clusion or  induction  by  a  general  statement. 

Causes  of  Belief 

So  much  speaking  has  for  its  aim  the  ac- 
ceptance of  some  belief,  that  much  can  be 
learned  by  a  brief  investigation  of  the  causes 
j  of  believing. 

What  does  the  average  man  believe,  and 
believe  so  strongly  that  if  you  differ  with  him 
he  is  likely  to  become  angry?     The  tenets  of 


28         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

his  religion.  How  did  he  come  to  believe  in 
them;  by  reasoning?  No,  the  average  indi- 
vidual who  holds  to  a  faith,  acquired  it  when 
a  child.  At  that  early  age,  when  the  mind 
was  incapable  of  reasoning,  the  parents  and 
the  Sunday  Schools  taught  the  child  that  there 
was  a  Supreme  Being  and  that  the  conduct  of 
the  world  was  regulated  by  laws  laid  down 
by  that  Supreme  Being.  The  child  believed 
because  neither  its  own  mind  nor  that  of  others 
questioned  or  contradicted  these  statements. 
Years  later,  when  the  reasoning  powers  of  the 
child  are  developed,  he  may  question  some  of 
the  tenets  of  the  faith  in  which  he  was  reared. 
But  in  a  crisis  which  brushes  away  light  and 
frivolous  thinking  and  compels  him  to  act  on 
what  he  really  believes,  he  will  probably 
be  found  clinging  to  the  faith  of  his  child- 
hood. 

What  does  this  prove?  Simply  that  every- 
thing we  hear  becomes  a  truth  with  us  unless 
our  own  brain  or  that  of  another  questions 
it  and  thereby  raises  an  issue.  In  the  case  of 
a  speaker  addressing  an  audience,  the  prob- 
lem is  to  combat  the  questioning  of  the  audi- 


CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE  29 

ence.     If  the  speaker  can  win  out,  he  has 
secured  acceptance  of  the  belief. 

With  the  decreased  mental  energy  of  the 
audience  and  the  power  of  the  speaker's  per- 
sonality, the  audience  is  at  a  disadvantage. 
It  requires  mental  energy  to  question  a  state- 
ment, and  if  the  force  of  the  speaker's  pres- 
ence is  sufficient,  the  doubts  are  resolved  in  his 
favor.  But  if  doubts  arise  they  c^n  be  over- 
come not  only  by  reasoning  but  also  by  repeti- 
tion. The  effect  of  repeating  a  statement  is 
far  greater  than  that  of  argument.  The  prob- 
lem, therefore,  of  getting  others  to  accept  a 
belief  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  fashioning 
keen  arguments,  as  it  is  a  task  of  filling  the 
mind  with  that  thought  to  the  exclusion  of 
contradictory  ideas.  No  two  objects  can  oc- 
cupy the  same  space  at  the  same  time;  no 
two  ideas  can  occupy  the  brain  at  the  same 
moment.  Each  time  you  repeat  a  statement, 
you  focus  the  attention  of  the  audience  upon 
it.  Gradually,  whatever  contradictory  ideas 
may  have  suggested  themselves  lose  ground, 
and  the  speaker's  statement  occupies  the  entire 
thought  of  the  brain.    Have  you  ever  stopped 


30         ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

to  think  of  how  our  best  advertised  products 
are  sold?  "Eventually,  why  not  now?"  is  the 
sole  argument  of  a  flour  manufacturer.  "The 
Prudential  has  the  strength  of  Gibraltar"  is 
repeated  so  often  that  no  one  has  any  doubts 
left — they  have  been  crowded  out  of  the  brain. 

American  history  teems  with  instances  of 
public  men  attaining  their  goals  merely  by 
asserting  a  conclusion  so  frequently  and  so 
vigorously  that  it  drove  all  opposition  from 
the  public  mind  and  became  accepted  as  gos- 
pel truth.  Andrew  Jackson  sought  to  destroy 
the  United  States  Bank.  He  said  it  was  un- 
sound. The  figures  compiled  by  his  oppon- 
ents proved  otherwise.  But  Jackson  went  on 
repeating  "The  bank  is  broke  and  Biddle 
knows  it"  until  he  won  the  public  over  to  his 
side.  Hiram  W.  Johnson,  standing  alone, 
elected  himself  Governor  of  California  by 
embracing  one  issue  and  hammering  away  at 
it  every  night  of  the  campaign.  Touring  the 
state  in  his  own  motor  car,  he  addressed  little 
groups  in  every  hamlet  and  village,  ending 
every  speech  with  these  words: 

"And  remember  this,  my  friends,  I  am  go- 


CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE  31 

ing  to  be  the  next  Governor  of  California,  and 
when  I  am,  I  am  going  to  kick  out  of  this 
government  William  F.  Herrin  and  the  South- 
ern Pacific  Railroad.     Good  night!" 

Each  time  Johnson  repeated  this  statement 
he  brought  the  minds  of  the  electorate  back  to 
the  idea.  Gradually  it  crowded  out  all  doubts 
and  was  accepted  as  true.  He  was  elected. 
The  effect  of  repetition  has  never  been  better 
expressed  than  by  our  old  friend,  Mr.  Dooley: 
"I  belave  annything  at  all,  if  ye  only  tell  it 
to  me  often  enough." 

Experience  teaches  us  to  question  every- 
thing or  nearly  everything  that  we  hear. 
Otherwise,  our  safe-deposit  boxes  would  be 
filled  with  worthless  oil  and  mining  stocks. 
Self-protection  has  trained  us  to  question 
nearly  every  matter  before  taking  action. 
But  before  our  minds  begin  to  question  any- 
thing, the  idea  must  reach  that  degree  of 
definiteness  which  makes  questioning  possible. 
When  the  insurance  agent  says,  "I  want  you 
to  take  a  policy  for  $10,000,"  the  goal  is  per- 
fectly definite.  Then  the  mind  turns  to  ques- 
tioning: "Can  I  afford  it";  "Couldn't  I  use 


32         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

the  premiums  to  better  advantage?"  But  if 
he  merely  presents  the  benefits  of  such  a  pol- 
icy, the  mind  of  the  prospect  is  focused  on 
the  arguments  in  its  favor,  and  whatever 
thinking  he  does  is  more  likely  to  be  in  the 
nature  of  the  conclusion  that  he  should  invest. 
For  that  reason,  the  skilful  salesman  never 
puts  the  blunt  question  until  he  has  caused 
you  to  come  to  that  conclusion  by  your  own 
thinking. 

We  have  seen  that  the  mental  energy  of  an 
audience  is  limited.  If  the  speaker  stops  short 
of  the  goal,  the  energy  of  the  audience  is 
spent  in  carrying  the  thought  to  its  conclusion. 
There  is  little  or  none  left  for  questioning. 
This  method  of  convincing  an  audience  by 
directing  its  thoughts  toward  the  goal,  but  by 
refraining  from  stating  the  goal  until  its  own 
thought  has  reached  the  point,  is  called  sug- 
gestion. The  audience  believes  that  it  is  mak- 
ing its  own  decision  and  its  mind  is  so  com-  1 
pletely  engaged  in  carrying  the  thought  to 
that  conclusion,  that  there  is  no  room  or  time 
for  opposing  or  deterring  ideas.  , 

Perhaps  the  greatest  modem  master  of  sug-    | 


CONSIDER  THE  AUDIENCE  33 

gestion  is  William  Jennings  Bryan.  In  the 
campaign  of  1896,  he  aimed  to  focus  the 
attention  of  the  American  people  on  the  cer- 
tainty of  McKinley's  defeat.  Had  he  said, 
"McKinley  will  be  defeated,"  the  audience 
would  have  undoubtedly  carried  the  thought 
over  to  the  reasons  why  he  would  not  be 
beaten.  True,  had  he  repeated  the  statement 
often  enough,  he  would  have  gained  some 
effect.  But  instead  of  repetition,  he  employed 
suggestion.  Notice  how  he  refrains  from  a 
blunt  statement: 

"McKinley  was  the  most  popular  man 
among  the  Republicans,  and  three  months  ago 
everybody  in  the  Republican  Party  prophe- 
sied his  election.  How  is  it  today?  Why,  the 
man  who  was  once  pleased  to  think  that  he 
looked  like  Napoleon — that  man  shudders  to- 
day when  he  remembers  that  he  was  nomi- 
nated on  the  anniversary  of  the  Battle  of 
Waterloo.  Not  only  that,  but  as  he  listens 
he  can  hear  with  ever-increasing  distinctness 
the  sound  of  the  waves  as  they  beat  upon  the 
lonely  shore  of  St.  Helena." 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING 

No  architect  would  think  of  beginning  work 
on  the  plans  for  a  building  until  he  was  told 
the  purpose  for  which  the  structure  was  to  be 
used.  Unless  the  speaker  builds  his  speech 
to  meet  the  need  of  the  occasion  or  the  goal  he 
has  in  mind,  he  cannot  hope  to  achieve  success. 

Viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  occa- 
sion, there  is  the  after-dinner  speech,  the 
political  speech,  the  lecture,  the  board-of- 
directors  speech,  the  sermon,  the  talk  to  the 
jury,  the  argument  before  the  bench  of  judges, 
the  Fourth  of  July  oration,  and  a  host  of 
others.  Many  of  these  have  much  in  common ; 
they  overlap  in  so  far  as  purpose  is  concerned. 
The  only  really  scientific  classification,  there- 
fore, is  one  based  not  on  the  occasion,  but  on 
the  ultimate  aim  or  end  of  the  speech. 

Students  of  oratory,  from  Quintilian  down, 
have  endeavored  to  classify  speeches  accord- 
ing to  the  aim  of  the  speaker.  It  is  not  the 
[341 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  35 

author's  intention  to  invent  any  new  analysis, 
but  merely  to  present  a  division  that  will  be 
of  most  usefulness  to  the  beginning  speaker. 
Roughly  speaking,  there  are  two  main  divi- 
sions: first,  the  purely  entertaining  speech, 
and,  second,  the  speech  which  seeks  to  accom- 
plish something  more  serious  than  merely  to 
please  the  listener  during  its  delivery.  In  the 
first  class  fall  the  after-dinner  speech,  the 
speech  of  welcome  to  returning  friends,  the 
monologue  of  vaudeville,  and  all  those  which 
merely  aim  to  please  the  listeners  for  the  time 
being.  Such  speeches  may  or  may  not  be 
humorous,  but  they  should  be  felicitous.  Hap- 
piness is  the  key-note  of  their  purpose.  If  the 
speaker  holds  the  attention  and  amuses,  he 
has  achieved  his  end. 

Most  theatre-goers  look  upon  tragedy  as 
calling  forth  the  highest  art  and  skill  of  the 
actors.  But  our  greatest  stage  celebrities  are 
almost  unanimous  in  the  assertion  that  comedy 
is  the  most  difficult  and  trying  of  all.  If  this 
sounds  discouraging,  there  is  hope  in  the  tes- 
timony of  our  greatest  popular  humorist, 
Irvin  S.  Cobb.     Mr.  Cobb  always  keeps  his 


36         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

feet  on  the  ground;  he  never  indulges  in  flat- 
tery or  blatant  optimism.  But  he  states  that 
everyone  has  the  ability  to  develop  into  a 
humorous  writer  or  speaker.  The  idea  that 
it  is  a  gift  of  birth  he  calls  "bushwah." 

The  ability  to  make  others  laugh  requires 
two  assets — first,  the  cultivation  of  the  eye  for 
the  humorous  side  of  every  situation;  second, 
the  knack  of  presenting  what  strikes  our  funny 
bone  in  a  manner  that  will  make  others  experi- 
ence the  same  sensation.  There  is  really  noth- 
ing new  in  humor.  All  our  brand-new  jokes 
are,  as  Mark  Twain  points  out,  old  ones  in 
new  garments.  If  you  question  his- statement, 
note  the  next  fifty  funny  stories  or  sayings 
you  hear  and  you  will  find  that  they  fall  into 
one  of  a  few  classes. 

Every  man  has  a  sense  of  humor  and  every- 
one possesses  in  some  degree  the  ability  to 
make  others  enjoy  what  is  to  him  the  funny 
side  of  life.  It  takes  time  and  eff'ort  and 
much  experimentation  to  find  yourself  in  this 
art,  but  practice  will,  as  in  every  other  field  of 
endeavor,  bear  fruit. 

Humor,  of  course,  is  only  one  of  the  factors 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  37 

of  entertainment.  Some  of  the  others  are: 
(1)  the  vital;  (2)  the  unusual;  (3)  the  uncer- 
tain; (4)  the  antagonistic;  (5)  the  animate, 
and  (6)  the  concrete. 

By  vital  we  mean  those  things  which  touch 
our  most  intimate  interests  in  existence.  Pro- 
fessor William  James  wrote  that  the  average 
man  developed  but  ten  per  cent  of  his  ability; 
recent  statistics  show  that  one  out  of  every 
ten  marriages  ends  in  the  divorce  court.  These 
are  vital  facts. 

The  Chinese  pay  the  doctor  while  they  are 
well.  As  soon  as  they  fall  ill,  his  income 
from  the  sick  stops.  That  is  unusual  and 
therefore  entertaining. 

The  uncertain  is  another  name  for  the  sus- 
pended, or  the  surprise.  The  secret  of  writing 
a  good  detective  story  lies  in  the  art  of  with- 
holding from  the  reader  the  solution  of  the 
mystery  until  the  very  end. 

Have  you  ever  noticed  how  many  books 
and  plays  consist  merely  of  a  hero  trying  to 
get  something  with  a  villain  obstructing  his 
efforts?  Combat  of  some  sort  is  the  key  of 
the  antagonistic.     Tell  an  audience  of  some 


38         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

Struggle  —  football  game,  battle,  fight  for 
recognition — and  they  respond  like  children 
hearing  a  fairy  tale. 

"Life-like"  describes  the  animate.  The 
properties  of  radium  may  not  entertain  all 
listeners,  but  few  will  fail  to  enjoy  an  account 
of  how  Madame  Currie  chanced  upon  that 
marvelous  element. 

The  concrete  is  the  tangible,  the  actual. 
An  explanation  of  why  the  human  body  will 
sink  in  fresh  water  might  not  be  interesting 
to  the  average  man  on  the  street.  But  let  the 
speaker  discourse  on  how  the  body  will  float 
in  the  Great  Salt  Lake  and  everyone  "pricks 
up  his  ears." 

Perhaps  the  greatest  virtue  of  an  entertain- 
ing speech  is  the  continuity  of  its  interest. 
Never  allow  the  speech  to  "sag";  keep  the 
minds  of  the  listeners  off  the  ground. 

The  second  division — the  speech  which  aims 
to  do  something  more  than  entertain — com- 
prises every  other  conceivable  form  of  ad- 
dress. This  class  may  be  subdivided  into  four 
groups,  or  into  two  groups  of  two  subdivisions 
each: 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  39 

I. — Speeches  without  emotional  appeal. 

(a)  Instructive. 

(b)  Argumentative. 

II. — Speeches  with  emotional  appeal. 

(a)  Impressive. 

(b)  Appealing. 

The  Instructive  Speech 

■'    The    instructive    speech    aims    to    clarify. 

'  Nearly  every  speech  at  some  point  confines 

itself  to  clearness.     But  for  the  purpose  of 

this  classification,  we  are  only  concerned  with 

clearness  as  an  end  and  not  as  a  means. 

I       Recently  Elihu  Root  appeared  before  the 

'  members  of  the  Bar  Association  of  New  York 

'  City   with   an    address   on    "The    League    of 

j  Nations."     He  told  them  of  the  machinery 

1  created  by  the  League  and  how  the  draftsmen 

!  intended  it  should  function.     He  did  not  at- 

I  tempt  to  impress  them  with  the  magnitude  of 

'  the  undertaking,  nor  did  he  aim  to  gain  their 

i  acceptance  of  his  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  the 

j  League  or  in  the  wisdom  of  its  rejection  by 

the  United  States  Senate.    He  made  no  appeal 


40         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

for  action  on  the  part  of  his  listeners.  His 
purpose  was  merely  to  make  clear  to  the 
members  of  the  bar  the  organization  and 
operation  of  this  new  super-state  which  the 
Peace  Commissioners  had  set  up. 

Here  was  an  excellent  example  of  the  in- 
structive speech.  Lectures  and  most  addresses 
before  business  and  professional  meetings 
come  within  this  class.  The  virtue  sought  in 
such  speeches  may  be  boiled  down  to  this, — 
to  make  the  audience  understand  the  subject 
as  clearly  as  the  speaker.  And  in  striving  for 
this  virtue,  there  is  a  cardinal  rule  which  is 
nearly  always  applicable — explain  the  un- 
known in  terms  of  the  known,  Victor  Hugo 
began  his  masterful  description  of  the  Battle 
of  Waterloo  by  asking  the  reader  to  imagine 
a  capital  A.  Each  point  of  the  field  was 
assigned  to  some  part  of  the  letter,  thereby 
assisting  the  reader  to  build  up  a  clear  visual 
image  of  the  struggle. 

Never  use  technical  terms  unless  (1)  you 
are  sure  they  are  known  to  the  audience,  or 
(2)  you  have  preceded  the  use  of  the  term 
with    a    clear    explanation    of    its    meaning. 


I 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  41 

Nothing  will  kill  the  attention  and  interest 
of  an  audience  so  quickly  as  the  use  of  some 
word  or  phrase  which  is  unintelligible  to  them. 
They  immediately  conclude  that  you  are 
"speaking  over  their  heads"  and  become  rest- 
less. Many  speakers  use  technical  terms  with 
the  parenthesis,  "I'll  explain  that  later."  This 
is  also  dangerous.  It  is  like  trying  to  hang 
a  coat  upon  the  wall  before  driving  the  nail. 
If  you  must  use  technical  terms,  explain  them 
immediately  or,  better,  precede  the  use  with 
a  brief  definition. 

Be  sure  that  your  illustrations  or  specific 
instances  .  are  known  to  your  hearers.  A 
speaker,  addressing  a  New  York  audience, 
likened  the  heat  of  the  boiler  room  on  a  battle- 
ship to  the  temperature  of  noonday  in  Rome. 
The  illustration  meant  nothing.  Had  he  men- 
tioned the  heat  of  a  subway  train  in  August 
with  the  fans  out  of  order,  the  simile  would 
have  explained. 

The  best  mental  images  to  call  forth  are 
those  easily  seen,  heard  or  felt  by  the  audi- 
ence. This  usually  means  images  which  are 
most  frequently  called  to  mind.    Beware,  how- 


42  ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

ever,  of  such  hackneyed  expressions  as  "white 
as  snow,"  "cold  as  ice,"  "sharp  as  a  razor." 
They  are  so  common  that  they  merely  mean 
words  to  the  listener.  Repeated  use  has 
robbed  them  of  force  and  freshness. 

Remember  that  the  average  individual  de- 
velops his  visual  imagery  more  than  he  does 
any  of  the  others.  The  use  of  mental  pictures, 
therefore,  is  the  most  effective  means  of  ob- 
taining clearness. 

The  Impressive  Speech 

When  we  couple  with  clearness  the  emo- 
tional association,  our  aim  is  impressiveness. 
Here  the  appeal  is  to  the  heart  rather  than  to 
the  head.  Not  only  must  the  idea  be  seen,  it 
must  also  be  felt.  None  of  us — no  matter  how 
highly  developed  intellectually  —  can  with- 
stand the  effect  of  emotion.  Thoughts  may 
stir,  but  feelings  move. 

A  newspaper  correspondent  witnesses  the 
Battle  of  the  Marne.  He  sees  the  Germans 
attempt  to  cross  the  river,  hears  the  roar  of 
the  French  "seventy-fives,"  smells  the  light 
brown  smoke  from  the  guns,  feels  the  ground 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  43 

beneath  him  shudder  as  the  shells  explode. 
Every  emotion  is  aroused.  Returning  to  his 
home  in  Switzerland,  he  appears  before  an 
audience  of  his  countrymen  with  an  account 
of  his  experiences.  He  doesn't  argue  the  cause 
of  the  Allies,  he  makes  no  appeal  for  a  declar- 
ation of  war — he  simply  desires  to  make  them 
run  the  gamut  of  feelings  which  he  experi- 
enced as  an  eye  witness. 

His  aim  is  to  be  impressive.  Eulogies  of 
dead  heroes,  patriotic  addresses  on  national 
holidays,  invectives — all  fall  within  this  class. 
Impressiveness  can  be  gained  by  any  one  or 
more  of  a  variety  of  means.  Let  us  consider 
some  of  them. 

Quoting  a  well  known  man  not  only  gains 
acceptance  of  an  idea,  it  stirs  the  feelings 
with  which  the  memory  of  that  man  is  linked. 
A  speaker  addressing  an  audience  on  the  value 
of  utilizing  all  the  faculties  of  the  mind,  inter- 
polated this  paragraph: 

"Perhaps  the  secret  of  Roosevelt's  greatness 
will  never  be  revealed  by  any  biographer  in  a 
more  terse  manner  than  by  the  man's  own 
words  in  the  last  week  of  his  life.    Writing  to 


44         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

his  sister,  Mrs.  Robinson,  he  defended  his 
strenuous  life  in  these  words:  'When  I  was 
twenty-one,  I  promised  myself  that  I  would 
live  my  life  to  the  hilt  until  I  was  sixty.  And 
I  can  now  say  that  I  have  kept  that  promise.'  " 

Generalities  may  impress  those  who  are 
constantly  endeavoring  to  frame  their  concepts 
of  the  general  laws  of  life  and  science,  but 
they  mean  little  to  the  average  member  of  an 
audience.  To  say  that  Washington  was  tender- 
hearted, kind  and  affectionate  is  not  nearly  so 
impressive  as  the  following  lines  from  one 
of  his  biographies: 

"The  General  had  finished  his  farewell 
address.  A  death-like  silence  gripped  all 
around  him.  Standing  near  was  General 
Greene — in  tears.  Without  a  word  spoken, 
Washington  advanced  toward  him  and  kissed 
him." 

Specific  instances  which  arouse  sentiment 
are  the  most  impressive.  The  following  was 
told  by  a  student  of  the  emotions  as  evidence 
of  the  close  alliance  between  humor  and 
pathos: 

"The  drunkard  sat  on  the  curb  with  his 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  45 

shaggy  head  resting  on  his  chest.  Around 
him  danced  the  village  urchins,  spearing  him 
with  sticks  and  jests.  Suddenly  the  sot  raised 
his  head — the  crowd  scattered — one  of  the  boys 
recognized  the  drunkard  as  his  own  father." 

Unusual  stories  and  anecdotes  tend  to  shock. 
The  following  quotation  from  Dr.  W.  Hanna 
Thompson  is  an  excellent  instance  of  the 
power  of  the  unusual.  Speaking  of  the  Roman 
Seneca  and  his  base  nature,  Dr.  Thompson 
writes  : 

".  .  .  he  (Seneca)  was  the  man  who  scan- 
dalized even  the  hardened  cynics  of  Nero's 
Rome  by  rising  in  the  Senate  to  eulogize  Nero 
for  ripping  open  the  body  of  his  mother  to 
see  the  womb  that  bore  him." 

If  you  would  make  an  idea  impressive,  you 
must  make  the  audience  give  more  thought  to 
it  than  it  ordinarily  would  in  a  short,  cursory 
exposition.  By  dwelling  on  it,  by  repeating 
it,  by  using  impressive  words,  you  enlarge  the 
attention  given  the  idea. 

The  short  Anglo-Saxon  words  are  usually 
preferable  to  the  Latinized  ones.  The  Bible 
and  Lincoln's  speeches  owe  part  of  their  liter- 


46         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

ary  immortality  to  the  superiority  of  the  short, 
terse  quality  of  simple  words.  But  for  pur- 
poses of  impressiveness  it  is  sometimes  advan- 
tageous to  use  the  longer  word.  To  say  that 
cigarette  smoking  by  little  girls  is  nasty  ex- 
presses the  idea  very  well,  but  to  say  that  it  is 
disgusting  adds  an  impressiveness.  Like- 
wise, to  call  a  spectacle  stupendous  gives  an 
emphasis  which  the  word  grand  lacks.  The 
reason  for  this  superiority  is  the  greater  num- 
ber of  syllables  and  therefore  the  greater 
space  of  time  in  which  the  adjective  occupies 
the  attention  of  the  hearers. 

Repetition  of  an  idea  gains  impressiveness 
for  the  same  reason.  Notice  how  the  cumula- 
tion of  evidence  in  the  following  paragraph 
hammers  the  thought  home: 

"The  Germans  had  no  scruples  of  conscience 
in  waging  war.  When  the  invasion  of  peace- 
ful Belgium  was  protested  in  the  name  of 
neutrality,  the  answer  was,  'A  mere  scrap  of 
paper!'  When  Woodrow  Wilson  penned  his 
protest  against  the  use  of  the  submarine,  the 
answer  was,  'Stay  off  the  seas!'  When  aged 
fathers  tried  to  shelter  their  daughters  from 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  47 

the  invading  hordes,  the  penalty  consisted  of 
forcing  them  to  witness  the  violation  of  their 
offspring  on  the  open  street." 

Repetition  may  take  the  form  of  continuous 
reassertion  as  in  the  last  instance  or  it  may 
be  a  recurrence  at  stated  intervals  throughout 
the  speech.  In  either  case,  effectiveness  is 
best  gained  by  a  climactic  sequence  in  which 
each  succeeding  repetition  is  more  striking 
than  the  last. 

The  Argumentative  Speech 

The  argumentative  speech  aims  to  persuade 
an  audience  to  accept  the  speaker's  belief. 
Where  speakers  representing  different  sides  of 
a  question  present  their  arguments  to  the  same 
audience,  the  contest  is  called  a  debate.  Such 
contests  require  a  strict  adherence  to  formal 
rules,  and  the  speaking  takes  the  form  of  a 
cold,  mathematical  appeal  to  reason.  But  the 
object  of  a  speaker  in  a  debate  is  to  adduce 
a  greater  amount  of  evidence  in  support  of 
his  contention  than  his  opponent  does.  And 
his  efforts  are  judged  by  men  who  are  sworn 
to  weigh  his  arguments  from  an  unprejudiced 


48         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

viewpoint.  But  the  average  argumentative 
speech  must  do  more.  It  must  not  only  pre- 
sent reasons,  it  must  secure  belief. 

The  cardinal  rule  for  gaining  acceptance  of 
any  belief  is  to  liken  that  belief  with  one  or 
more  already  accepted  by  the  audience.  The 
following  paragraph  from  a  speech  by  an 
advocate  of  the  League  of  Nations  illustrates 
the  application  of  this  rule: 

"The  opponents  of  the  League  have  spent 
many  words  on  the  argument  that  whatever 
benefits  may  be  derived  from  its  adoption  will 
be  purchased  at  the  cost  of  our  American  lib- 
erties. All  government  means  the  loss  of  cer- 
tain rights.  Flourish  a  revolver  on  Broadway, 
New  York  City,  and,  unless  you  have  a  permit, 
you  will  soon  find  yourself  accompanying  a 
gentleman  in  blue  to  the  nearest  police  station. 
Where  is  your  liberty?  But  the  next  day,  if 
you  are  fortunate  enough  to  secure  bail,  that 
same  policeman  may  save  your  life  from  the 
assaults  of  a  thug.  Would  you  give  up  that 
protection  to  regain  the  liberty  of  carrying 
arms?  The  next  time  you  pay  taxes  on  your 
real  estate,  you  will  find  on  examining  the  bill 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  49 

that  some  of  the  money  collected  goes  to  the 
State  of  New  York.  You  cannot  deduct  that 
amount  from  the  bill.  Where  is  your  liberty? 
But  the  money  which  goes  outside  your  county 
helps  to  keep  the  state  roads  in  repair.  You 
may  go  anywhere  in  the  State  without  paying 
tolls  to  cross  bridges  and  without  being  held 
up  as  a  possible  alien.  Would  you  relinquish 
these  enjoyments  to  regain  the  right  to  refuse 
to  pay  taxes?  Recently,  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  told  New  York  that  it  could 
not  tax  residents  of  other  states  at  a  greater 
rate  than  it  taxed  us.  Where  is  our  liberty  of 
taxing  non-residents?  But  that  same  Federal 
Government  stations  representatives  all  over 
the  world  to  protect  us  when  we  travel  on 
business  or  pleasure.  At  the  cost  of  millions 
of  dollars  and  men,  it  prevented  an  ambitious 
conqueror  from  implanting  the  German  lan- 
guage on  our  land.  Are  the  benefits  worth 
the  cost? 

"The  advocates  of  the  League  would  go  a 
step  farther.  They  would  protect  us  from  the 
ravages  of  war,  they  would  save  us  billions  of 
dollars  that  now  go  into  engines  of  destruction, 


50         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

they  would  insure  freedom  to  business  all  over 
the  world.  What  is  the  cost!  Simply  the  loss  of 
those  rights  which  we  have  long  ago  contrib- 
uted to  the  cause  of  law  and  order  in  order  to 
secure  the  blessings  of  peace  and  happiness." 
The  value  of  repetition  and  suggestion  has 
been  discussed  in  a  previous  chapter.  There 
remains  one  other  important  means  of  secur- 
ing acceptance.  The  citing  of  testimony  from 
some  well  known  man  is  a  very  effective  aid. 
Nearly  every  great  political  leader  has  relied 
upon  the  opinions  of  deceased  statesmen  as 
arguments  in  favor  of  his  stand  on  important 
measures.  In  defending  his  formation  of  the 
Progressive  Party,  Roosevelt  continually 
quoted  Lincoln's  views  on  party  loyalty  and 
likened  his  leaving  of  the  Republican  Party  to 
Lincoln's  entrance  into  the  same  party.  Nearly 
every  Senator  who  opposed  our  entrance  into 
the  League  of  Nations  quoted  Washington's 
warning  against  entangling  alliances. 

The  Appealing  Speech 

The  purpose  of  the  appealing  speech  is  to 
secure  action — the  highest  and  most  difficult 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  51 

goal  of  all.  The  man  who  can  get  an  audience 
to  do  his  will  is  not  only  an  orator,  he  is  a 
leader.  This  power  is  a  function  of  many 
things, — personality,  reputation,  and  all  the 
virtues  of  speaking  that  are  part  of  the  orator's 
equipment.  But  much  may  be  gained  by 
learning  how  to  direct  the  appeal. 

Why  do  men  toil,  why  do  they  perform  any 
act  requiring  the  expenditure  of  effort?  Such 
a  question  propounded  to  six  men  on  the  street 
would  probably  produce  six  answers,  each 
fitting  what  that  man  wanted  most  at  that 
particular  time.  But  if  those  six  were  to  come 
together  and  compare  their  answers,  they 
would  probably  agree  on  one  common  aim  in 
life — to  live  happily.  But  happiness  is  the 
result  of  satisfying  wants  and  desires.  In 
order,  then,  to  secure  action  through  appeal, 
we  must  show  the  audience  that  the  line  of 
conduct  we  would  have  them  pursue  will  sat- 
isfy one  or  more  of  their  desires. 

Man's  wants  are  many.  Primitive  man 
wanted  only  food,  clothing,  shelter  and  a  help- 
mate. But,  as  students  of  advertising  point 
out,  the  advancement  of  civilization  increases 


52  ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

the  complexity  of  life  and  the  resulting  wants 
and  needs  of  mankind.  To  name  specifically 
all  these  wants  and  needs  would  require  the 
space  of  a  small  dictionary.  But  for  the  pur- 
pose of  the  speaker,  it  will  suffice  to  name  the 
seven  classes  in  which  these  wants  may  be 
grouped.  The  order  in  which  they  are  named 
is  an  arbitrary  one  and  does  not  signify  their 
relative  importance. 

I. — ''Self-preservation  is  the  first  law  of 
nature,"  is  a  much  quoted  maxim,  often  used 
to  explain  the  selfishness  of  human  beings. 
But  it  is  instinctive,  and  if  we  are  to  judge 
man  by  the  animal  kingdom  in  general,  it  is 
the  first  law  of  conduct.  But  whether  it  is  first 
or  last,  it  is  an  important  factor  in  the  life  of 
all.  The  erection  of  houses,  the  care  of  the 
body,  the  caution  in  times  and  places  of 
danger,  the  appropriations  for  military  de- 
fenses— all  are  testimonials  of  the  desire  for 
self-preservation.  Appeal,  therefore,  to  any 
one  of  the  countless  desires  flowing  from  this 
instinct,  and  you  are  sure  to  set  in  motion 
some  human  act. 

11. — ''Love  rules  the  world."    The  psycho- 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  53 

analyst  Freud  attributes  all  human  thinking 
and  action  to  the  attraction  of  the  opposite  sex. 
But  love  in  the  sense  in  which  we  use  it  em- 
braces all  the  affection  which  we  hold  for 
persons  and  institutions  outside  of  self — rela- 
tives, friends,  and  country.  The  love  for  each 
varies  according  to  the  degree  of  relationship 
and  the  number  of  interests  in  common.  For 
the  love  of  kin,  men  toil  from  morning  to  night 
and  sometimes  sacrifice  all  personal  ambi- 
tions; for  the  love  of  friends  men  risk  their 
worldly  possessions;  for  the  love  of  country, 
men  brave  death  on  the  battlefield. 

III. — Property.  The  desire  to  accumulate 
money  or  its  equivalent  is  to  be  found  in  every 
race  and  climate.  The  very  possession  of  it, 
apart  from  the  things  it  can  buy,  is  an  aim 
common  to  nearly  all  of  us.  Show  any  man 
how  he  can  increase  his  income,  save  money 
and  become  financially  independent,  and  he 
will  "prick  up  his  ears."  The  accumulation 
of  property  may  be  frowned  upon  as  a  vain 
purpose,  but  cannot  be  ignored  as  a  main- 
spring of  human  endeavor. 

IV.^ — Knowledge  and  Power.     The  desire 


54         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

for  light  and  the   desire  for  power  are   so 
closely  interwoven  that  we  put  them  in  one 
heading.    A  man's  knowledge  is  so  small  that 
the  need   of   it   is   eternal.      "Knowledge   is 
power,"  links  the  two  in  a  manner  which  indi- 
cates that  the  latter  is  the  stronger  of  the  two. 
Power  is  that  desire  that  prompts  men  to  labor 
incessantly  in  order  to  develop  superior  skill 
in  their  business  or  profession,   thus  giving 
them  mastery  over  others.     It  is  this  motive 
that  leads  kings  to  wage  war,  statesmen  to  toil 
night  after  night  while  their  health  suffers, 
orators  to  study  the  psychology  of  crowds, 
scientists  to  risk  their  lives  in  the  laboratory 
to  wrest  the  secrets  from  nature,  and  capitalists 
to  die  in  the  saddle  long  after  they  have  pro- 
vided  for  themselves   and   their  heirs    unto 
the  third  and  fourth  generation.     Call  it  the 
lust  of  power  if  you  will,  but  few  men  who 
once  taste  it  are  able  to  lay  it  down. 

V. — Good  Name.  "I  care  not  what  others 
may  think  of  me;  I  shall  follow  my  con- 
science." How  often  have  we  heard  that  re- 
mark? It  is  a  noble  thought  —  one  which 
admits  of  little  argument.     And  yet,  the  very 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  55 

mentioning  of  "what  others  think  of  me"  is 
evidence  of  this  ever-present  consideration. 
Even  those  who  risk  their  good  names  to  fol- 
low certain  ideas  usually  attempt  at  some 
later  date  to  win  back  that  good  name  by  ex- 
plaining why  they  acted  as  they  did.  Which 
proves  that  the  desire  for  a  good  reputation 
is  rarely  extinguished. 

"Good  name  in  man  and  woman,  dear  my  lord, 
Is  the  immediate  jewel  of  their  souls: 
Who  steals  my  purse  steals  trash;  'tis  some- 
thing, nothing; 
'Twas  mine,  'tis  his,  and  has  been  slave  to 

thousands; 
But  he  that  filches  from  me  my  good  name 
Robs  me  of  that  which  not  enriches  him 
And  makes  me  poor  indeed." 

— Iago  to  Othello. 

VI. — Emotions.  There  are  certain  strong 
emotions  which  once  aroused,  impel  action. 
The  love  of  justice,  kindness,  generosity  and 
self-respect,  and  the  hatred  of  despotism,  dis- 
honesty, cowardice  and  kindred  vices  are  some 


56         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

of  the  feelings  so  strong  that  all  of  us  find 
ourselves  at  times  slaves  to  their  influence. 

VII. — Beliefs.  We  all  know  that  religion 
and  politics  are  tabooed  as  subjects  for  dis- 
cussion at  dinners  and  other  social  gatherings. 
And  the  reason  is  that  the  average  individual 
holds  his  ideas  on  each  so  closely  to  his  heart 
that  if  you  hit  either,  you  wound  the  whole 
man.  Men  will  die  for  their  religious  faith; 
they  will  part  company  with  their  best  friends 
because  of  political  diff"erences.  It  is  a  factor 
which  must  never  be  used  by  the  speaker 
unless  he  is  sure  to  off^end  no  one;  for  it  is  a 
double-edged  sword. 

If  it  were  possible  to  determine  in  some 
psychological  laboratory  the  proportionate 
strength  of  each  of  the  seven  groups  in  every 
man,  we  would  find  an  amazing  variety  of 
results.  But  the  speaker's  task  is  to  appeal 
to  the  collective  and  not  the  individual  man. 
The  best  plan  is  to  send  your  appeal  through 
all  seven  channels — then  you  are  sure  to  reach 
all  on  some  one  appeal.  If  that  plan  is  not 
feasible  you  must  select  your  channels  with 
three  considerations  in  mind:  (1)  the  charac- 


THE  PURPOSES  OF  SPEAKING  57 

ter  of  the  audience;  (2)  the  subject,  and  (3) 
the  appeal  which  you  are  best  fitted  to  make. 
The  latter  consideration  will  depend  largely 
on  your  individual  philosophy  of  life  and 
human  conduct. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SCOPE  OF  THE  SPEECH 

To  the  speaker  making  his  first  address, 
seconds  pass  like  hours,  and  minutes  crawl 
like  months.  But  close  on  the  heels  of  that 
first  realization  of  confidence  comes  the  com- 
plaint, "I  can't  cover  my  subject  in  the  allotted 
time."  It's  a  healthy  complaint — a  growing 
pain — notwithstanding  the  faults  which  it  con- 
fesses. 

The  trouble,  of  course,  lies  with  the  speaker's 
preparation.  The  man  who  does  not  plan  his 
speech  with  careful  consideration  of  the  time 
allotted  is  little  better  than  the  railroad  official 
who  publishes  a  time  table  without  taking  into 
consideration  the  speed  of  the  trains.  Anyone 
who  attends  dinners  knows  that  not  all  such 
men  are  in  public  speaking  classes,  but  they 
ought  to  be.  Nothing  is  more  boring  than  a 
speaker  who  lacks  "terminal  facilities."  On 
the  other  hand,  a  speaker  who  covers  his  point 
in  the  given  time  is  always  in  demand.  One 
[58] 


SCOPE  OF  THE  SPEECH  59 

of  the  most  pleasant  features  of  the  fall  open- 
ing at  Hamilton  College  is  the  talk  given  by 
Elihu  Root — one  point,  briefly  but  comprehen- 
sively expressed,  in  about  three  minutes. 

What  are  the  causes  of  failure  in  this  re- 
gard? Lack  of  experience?  Yes,  but  even 
the  most  inexperienced  speaker  can  succeed 
in  avoiding  this  transgression  by  observing 
two  laws:  first,  make  your  introduction  as 
short  as  possible;  second,  don't  try  to  cover 
too  much  ground.  The  first  will  be  treated 
I  at  length  in  a  subsequent  chapter;  the  second 
i  will  suffice  for  this. 

I       A   student  reads  of  the   immense   cost  of 
j  maintaining  our  army  and  navy,  and  that  dis- 
,  armament  would  save  every  man,  woman  and 
.  child  in  the  United  States  many  dollars  each 
year.     He  decides  to  use  that  subject  for  his 
I  next  three-minute  talk  before  the  class.    Very 
'  good!     But  in  turning  the  subject  over  in  his 
mind,  he  thinks  of  many  other  arguments  for 
':  disarmament — prevention  of  wars,  saving  of 
life,  business  stability.     The  subject  is  con- 
tinually enlarging,   like   a   snow-ball   rolling 
down  a  mountain  side.     The  probable  result 


60         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

is  that  he  attempts  to  present  the  whole  cause 
of  disarmament  in  three  minutes.  Can  it  be 
done?  Yes,  if  he  is  content  to  make  his  speech 
a  mere  table  of  contents.  Had  he  confined 
himself  to  the  one  phase  of  the  subject,  he 
could  have  made  an  incisive,  comprehensive 
appeal. 

A  former  Supreme  Court  Judge  of  New 
York  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  successful 
la^vyers  in  our  appellate  courts  confine  their 
oral  arguments  to  the  strongest  point  in  their 
briefs,  and  are  content  to  hammer  home  that 
one  point.  The  same  practice  is  followed  by 
successful  campaigners,  salesmen  and  clergy- 
men. Instead  of  spreading  yourself  over  an 
acre,  pick  out  the  high  spot  and  confine  your- 
self to  that  area. 

An  excellent  method  of  limiting  the  scope 
of  your  talk  is  to  speak  or  write  to  a  friend 
something  like  the  following: 

"I  am  going  to  give  a  three-minute  talk  to- 
morrow evening  on  the  battleship  of  the  future. 
My  purpose  is  to  convince  the  audience  that 
our  new  dreadnaughts  must  be  protected  above 
as  well  as  below  the  water-line.     I  shall  sup- 


SCOPE  OF  THE  SPEECH  61 

port  the  assertion  by  explaining  the  recent  air- 
bombing  tests  held  off  the  Atlantic  Coast." 

Such  a  condensed  statement,  spoken  or  writ- 
ten, has  the  added  advantage  of  revealing  to 
the  writer  or  speaker  the  clarity  of  his  thoughts. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PREPARING  THE  SPEECH PART  ONE 

Importance  of  Preparation 

There  is  so  much  misunderstanding  about 
"extemporaneous"  speaking  that  it  is  unfortu- 
nate that  the  word  ever  became  associated 
with  the  art.  The  dictionary  defines  the  adjec- 
tive as  "done  or  made  with  little  or  no  prep- 
aration; offhand."  Strictly  speaking,  there  is 
no  such  thing.  Of  course,  there  are  men  and 
women  who  have  a  certain  gift  for  concealing 
theij:  ignorance  by  glibly  discussing  a  subject 
in  lofty,  voluble  language  that  fills  the  ear  and 
decoys  the  mind  from  thought,  as  the  Lorelei 
lured  the  German  boatmen  from  the  stream.^ 
The  unthinking  listener  becomes  a  victim  of 
that  pernicious  philosophy  that  teaches  you 
can  get  something  for  nothing.  He  sometimes 
joins  a  public  speaking  class  with  the  hope 
that  some  secret  short-cut  will  teach  him  to 
stand  on  a  platform,  open  his  mouth  and  en- 
thrall any  audience  on  any  subject.  Such 
[62] 


I 


PREPARING  THE  SPEECH  63 

men  could  employ  their  time  and  money  to 
better  advantage  by  inventing  a  perpetual 
motion  machine. 

Great  speeches  have  been  delivered  without 
the  speaker's  preparing  for  the  particular  oc- 
casion. But  in  every  such  case,  the  effort 
coupled  a  previous  mastery  of  the  thought 
with  a  well-developed  ability  in  self-expres- 
sion. Daniel  Webster's  greatest  speech  was 
his  Reply  to  Hayne.  The  mellow  orator  of 
the  Union  had  just  completed  the  argument 
of  a  case  in  the  Supreme  Court  and  walked 
into  the  Senate  Chamber  to  find  the  spokesman 
of  the  South  making  an  impassionate  plea  for 
State  sovereignty.  Webster  took  up  the  chal- 
lenge and  met  the  issue  with  that  masterful 
argument  which  ended  with,  "Liberty  and 
union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable." 
A  friend  later  remarked,  "I  didn't  think  that 
even  you  could  make  such  an  extemporaneous 
speech!"  and  Webster  replied  with  a  smile, 
"I  have  been  preparing  that  speech  all  my 
life!" 

A  great  speech  requires  great  thoughts  and 
great  expression.     The  latter  is  skill,  but  the 


64         ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

former  is  a  possession  which  means  study  and 
work.  A  speech  can  be  no  better  than  the 
thinking  it  expresses.  Be  sure,  therefore,  that 
you  have  something  to  give  before  you  attempt 
to  exhibit  the  generosity  of  your  eloquence. 

Collecting  Material 

The  selection  of  a  subject  indicates,  or 
should  indicate,  that  the  speaker  has  given 
sufficient  thought  to  the  subject  to  warrant  the 
choice.  He  should  have,  therefore,  enough 
material  to  guide  him  in  collecting  more.  The 
man  who  wants  to  do  his  best,  however,  will 
never  go  on  the  platform  with  a  mere  handful 
of  facts  and  thoughts.  He  will  read  and  read, 
and  think  and  think.  The  more  material  col- 
lected the  greater  is  the  field  from  which  to 
select,  and  the  greater  the  reserve  the  greater 
the  confidence.  The  man  who  goes  into  a 
business  venture  with  a  comfortable  bank  bal- 
ance has  many  reasons  for  success. 

It  is  surprising  how  much  material  may  be 
gained  from  the  day's  experience  by  keeping 
the  subject  somewhere  in  the  mind.  The  good 
fisherman  focuses  his  attention  on  the  task, 


PREPARING  THE  SPEECH  65 

but  it  does  no  harm  to  tow  the  line  while  mov- 
ing from  place  to  place. 

Douglas  Mathewson,  former  Borough  Pres- 
ident of  the  Bronx,  New  York  City,  once  told 
a  class  in  public  speaking  that  his  ability  to 
fill  so  many  speaking  engagements  was  due  to 
a  plan  he  had  followed  from  youth.  He  kept 
a  notebook  of  speaking  material.  It  con- 
tained jokes,  anecdotes,  extracts  from  books, 
magazines  and  newspaper  articles,  and  all 
sorts  of  general  information  which  might  be 
used  in  a  public  address.  By  looking  over 
this  book  a  few  minutes  before  leaving  home 
to  speak,  he  would  get  enough  suggestions  to 
frame  a  speech  to  suit  the  occasion. 

This  is  not  given  as  a  model,  but  it  contains 
a  suggestion  that  the  ambitious  speaker  will 
follow.  One  of  the  greatest  evils  in  public 
speaking  classes  is  the  lack  of  preparation  on 
the  part  of  many  men.  How  a  man  can  expect 
to  get  the  most  out  of  a  course  without  expend- 
ing a  reasonable  amount  of  effort  in  prepara- 
tion is  difficult  to  understand.  If  you  are 
given  to  procrastination,  here  is  a  bit  of  ad- 
vice: pick  your  subject  for  next  week's  talk 


66  ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

before  you  retire  on  the  evening  of  your  last. 
While  undressing,  decide  on  what  you  are 
going  to  say.  Force  yourself  to  give  a  few 
minutes  of  each  day  to  it.  You  will  find  that 
your  ideas,  like  snow-balls  rolling  down  a 
hill,  gain  size  and  form  each  day. 

But  the  best  plan  is  to  keep  as  far  ahead  of 
your  appearances  as  you  can.  Professional 
writers  and  speakers  often  keep  a  cabinet  of 
manila  envelopes  in  which  they  place  all  sorts 
of  clippings  and  notes  on  which  they  intend  to 
write  or  speak.  Once  the  habit  of  collecting 
data  in  this  fashion  is  formed,  the  envelopes 
are  soon  bulging  with  material.  Ida  N.  Tar- 
bell  once  told  a  class  in  short  story  writing 
that  this  plan  worked  so  well,  that  she  could 
write  an  article  from  her  collections  in  a  very 
short  time.  You  should  adopt  right  now  some 
modification  of  this  plan.  Here  is  a  begin- 
ning: 

"I  never  let  an  idea  escape  me,  but 
write  it  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  put  it 
in  a  drawer.     In  that  way  I  sometimes 
save  my  best  thoughts  on  a  subject." 
— Abraham  Lincoln. 


PREPARING  THE  SPEECH  67 

Selecting  Material 

Experience  in  speaking  gives  a  man  a  sixth 
sense  for  appraising  the  value  of  any  given 
material.  The  beginner  must  learn  the  art 
of  keeping  and  discarding.  He  can  be  helped, 
however,  by  following  two  rules:  first,  use 
only  such  material  as  is  strictly  relevant  to 
the  subject;  second,  never  employ  material 
which  awakens  the  interest  of  the  audience  in 
another  subject.  In  applying  these  rules,  an 
excellent  practice  is  to  focus  the  attention  on 
the  particular  material,  apart  from  the  sub- 
ject. If  the  main  idea  leads  you  into  a  chan- 
nel of  thought  other  than  the  theme  of  your 
speech,  discard  it.  The  second  rule  may  well 
be  illustrated  by  the  following  example: 

A  speaker  preparing  a  talk  on  grit  came 
across  the  following: 

"De  man  dat  succeeds,"  said  Uncle  Eben, 
"is  de  one  dat  has  de  grit  to  git  up  every 
mornin'  and  put  ditto  marks  under  his  New 
Year's  resolutions." 

The  quotation  certainly  suggests  grit,  but 
it  also  leads  the  mind  of  the  reader  to  the 


68         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

subject  of  good  resolutions.  With  the  interest 
in  the  latter  awakened,  it  is  likely  that  the 
audience  will  be  led  into  that  channel  of 
thought  and  carry  its  subconscious  ideas  of 
resolutions  throughout  the  remainder  of  the 
speech. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PREPARING  THE  SPEECH PART  TWO 

Arranging  the  Material 

A  speech  may  be  divided  into  three  parts — 
introduction,  body  and  conclusion.  In  short 
speeches,  this  division  is  sometimes  hard  to 
make,  but  the  three  parts  are  there,  neverthe- 
less. The  importance  of  the  first  and  third 
was  very  forcefully  stated  in  the  humorous 
advice  of  Victor  Murdock:  "Get  a  good  begin- 
ning and  a  good  ending ;  stuff  it  with  whatever 
you  please."  Opening  and  closing  a  speech 
present  peculiar  problems  and  for  that  reason 
we  will  consider  them  later. 

Body.  Having  selected  the  material,  the 
'next  step  is  to  arrange  it  in  the  most  effective 
order.  This  brings  up  a  question  of  delivery 
which  might  well  be  mentioned  now.  The 
beginning  speaker,  fearful  of  his  memory,  is 
tempted  to  write  out  the  address  and  memorize 
it — a  dangerous  practice.  There  are  so  many 
reasons  against  such  a  procedure  that  a  de- 
[69] 


70  ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

tailed  presentation  of  the  arguments  would 
fill  a  volume  of  this  size.  But  at  this  point 
it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  the  practice 
quickly  ripens  into  a  habit  which  makes  the 
speaker  a  slave  to  it.  The  better  practice  is 
to  write  out  an  outline  and  memorize  it.  In 
arranging  that  outline  we  are  guided  by  rules 
which  are  readily  deducted  from  the  study 
of  plays,  novels,  essays  or  short  stories. 

The  first  rule  is  that  of  order.  No  audience 
wants  to  work  out  a  picture  puzzle;  it  has 
little  patience  with  the  speaker  who  jumbles 
his  thoughts  and  shuffles  his  facts.  All  the 
material  should  be  arranged  in  groups,  just  as 
the  automobile  manufacturer  assembles  nuts, 
bolts  and  plates  into  parts  before  putting  to- 
gether the  whole  machine.  The  order  of  the 
groups  should,  in  turn,  show  method.  It  is 
impossible  to  lay  down  any  precise  rules  which 
will  enable  the  speaker  to  determine  the  order. 
Each  speaker  must  follow  his  own  good  sense 
in  this  phase  of  the  construction.  But  he 
should  keep  in  mind  the  viewpoint  of  the 
audience.  It  is  always  a  good  plan  to  state 
facts  before  theories,   arguments  before  ap- 


PREPARING  THE  SPEECH  71 

peal,  evidence  before  conclusion.  A  speech 
wEicIi  is  essentially  narrative  need  not  pro- 
ceed in  strictly  chronological  sequence.  Have 
you  ever  noticed  that  most  stories  begin  in  the 
middle  of  the  action,  then  jump  to  the  begin- 
ning and  carry  the  tale  to  the  end?  The  same 
is  permissible  and  advantageous  in  the  spoken 
story. 

— The  second  rule  is  to  arrange  the  material 
in  the  most  effective  order.  That  means  that 
the  climax  should  come  near  the  end.  Many 
speakers  summarize  all  they  have  to  say  in 
two  or  three  sentences,  and  then  fill  out  the 
time  by  repeating  the  same  ideas  with  no 
additions  or  illuminating  illustrations.  This 
method  (or  lack  of  method)  of  discharging  all 
your  real  ammunition  on  the  first  salvo  results 
lin  a  weak  finish,  which  offsets  much  of  what- 
ever strength  lay  in  the  beginning.  The 
iheatre-goer  who  knows  how  the  play  will  end 
will  never  follow  the  action  with  the  same 
interest  that  is  borne  of  the  curiosity  to  know 
the  solution  of  the  problem.  Read  the  last 
chapter  of  a  book  and  you  will  not  have  the 
patience  to  read  the  middle.  The  well-arranged 


72         ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

speech  leaves  the  best  thrills  for  the  end,  and 
thus  intensifies  the  attention  and  interest  of  the 
audience  as  the  time  passes. 

The  third  rule  is  to  relieve  the  tension  of 
the  audience  by  following  each  striking  point 
with  lighter  and  less  serious  material.  The 
dramatist  plans  his  action  so  that  humor  or 
light  dialogue  rests  the  audience  after  each 
thrill.  Shakespeare  brought  on  the  drunken 
porter  immediately  after  Macbeth  had  killed 
Duncan;  Juliet's  nurse  prevented  the  fires  of 
tension  from  burning  themselves  out.  Like 
the  progress  of  the  incoming  tide,  each  big 
wave  is  followed  by  a  recession  that  makes 
the  next  greater  than  the  preceding.  Psychol- 
ogy shows  that  the  attention  is  not  a  continu- 
ous flow  of  heightened  tension;  it  comes  in 
waves.  If  the  demand  on  the  focus  of  the 
audience's  attention  is  greater  than  the  supplyj 
the  point  snaps  off  and  leaves  a  dull  surface. 

Introduction 

The  relation  of  the  introduction  to  the  body 
of  the  speech  is  such  an  important  considera- 
tion that  the  opening   remarks  can  be  best 


PREPARING  THE  SPEECH  73 

framed  after  the  body  has  been  well  prepared 
and  arranged.  The  function  of  an  introduc- 
tion is  to  introduce.  That  is  its  main  purpose. 
But  there  are  two  other  virtues. 

Firstj_.an  introduction  should  be  brief. 
Second,  it  should  secure  attention.  Some  men 
are  so  constituted  that  they  cannot  begin  any 
speech  without  tracing  the  world's  history 
from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  and  long  after  their 
time  is  up  they  reach  the  creation  of  Eve. 
We  live  in  such  a  rapid  age,  quick  action  is  so 
imperative,  that  no  speaker  should  try  the 
patience  of  an  audience  by  too  long  an  over- 
ture. Select^  yojiir  key  before  you  approach 
the  door  and  unlock  it  with  speed  if  not  haste. 

Notice  how  advertisements  are  worded  so 
as  to  attract  attention  at  the  very  beginning. 
How  often  do  you  pass  by  a  short  story  because 
the  title  or  the  opening  paragraph  fails  to 
arouse  your  interest?  If  the  writer  is  a  suc- 
cessful one,  he  has  probably  spent  more  time 
in  writing  the  beginning  than  he  has  on  any 
other  part  of  equal  length  in  the  entire  story. 

There  are  countless  ways  of  making  the 
opening  remarks  interesting.     The  following 


74         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

are  merely  a  few  of  the  methods  commonly 
used  by  average  speakers. 

Story.  You  have  probably  heard  that  it  is 
not  good  form  to  begin  a  speech  with  a  story. 
The  reason  back  of  this  rule,  if  it  may  be  con- 
sidered a  rule,  is  the  abuse  of  this  means  of 
securing  attention.  Many  men  go  out  of  their 
way  to  begin  with  a  story,  regardless  of 
whether  the  story  has  or  has  not  a  good  con- 
nection with  the  speech  as  a  whole.  Such  a 
practice  is  just  as  cheap  as  the  vaudeville  stunt 
of  saving  a  poor  act  by  dragging  out  the 
American  flag  at  the  close.  Telling  a  story  is 
not  the  most  dignified  method  of  beginning  an 
address,  but  if  it  is  in  point  and  its  spirit  is  in 
keeping  with  the  speech,  there  is  no  substantial 
objection  to  it.  By  story,  of  course,  we  mean 
some  piece  of  fiction. 
\  Quotation.  A  quotation — prose  or  poetry 
— from  the  writings  of  some  great  man  or 
woman  is  an  excellent  opener.  We  are  always 
interested  in  successful  people  and  cannot  get 
enough  of  their  opinions.  When  we  hear  well- 
known  people  quoted,  we  unconsciously  pay 
the  person  quoting  some  of  the  respect  and 


I 


i 


PREPARING  THE  SPEECH  75 

admiration  we  hold  for  the  person  quoted. 
Sometimes  in  quoting  poetry  it  is  better  to 
omit  the  name  of  the  poet,  particularly  when 
the  lines  are  well  known.  Here,  again,  the 
quotation  should  have  a  real  connection  with 
what  follows.  If  the  audience  gets  the  im- 
pression that  you  are  dragging  in  a  story  or 
quotation  by  the  ears  simply  for  its  effect  on 
them,  you  will  soon  feel  its  resentment. 
1^  Startling  Statements.  We  have  all  heard 
such  opening  remarks  as,  "The  majority  is 
always  wrong";  "Every  man  is  a  potential 
murderer";  "Might  makes  right."  Such  state- 
ments never  fail  to  arouse  an  audience  to  at- 
tention. Whether  because  of  the  sweeping 
character  of  the  remark  or  because  of  the 
paradox,  we  sit  up  and  listen  to  what  follows. 
But  when  you  use  this  method,  be  sure  that 
you  satisfy  the  curiosity  it  arouses.  Unless 
your  succeeding  statements  explain  its  mean- 
ing to  the  satisfaction  of  the  audience,  your 
startling  statement  will  prove  a  boomerang. 
Uistgi^.  Some  interesting  fact  or  anecdote 
from  history,  particularly  when  it  centers 
around  a  well-known  personality,  is  probably 


76         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

the  best  method  of  opening  an  address.  There 
is  something  about  the  past  which  holds  a 
charm  for  all.  And  when  we  hear  a  man  go 
back  into  history  we  instinctively  increase  our 
respect  for  his  knowledge  and  ability. 
A  ^J^I^^^^  Experiences  are  always  welcome. 
j  An  audience  is  always  eager  to  pry  into  the 
life  and  habits  of  the  man  addressing  it.  By 
taking  them  into  your  confidence,  you  increase 
their  interest  in  you.  The  average  speaker  is 
far  too  modest  in  his  aversion  to  the  use  of  the 
first  person. 
l^  Outline.  Sometimes,  when  the  subject  mat- 
^  ter  or  the  lack  of  time  makes  the  ordinary 
introduction  inadvisable,  it  is  proper  to  open 
by  setting  forth  in  brief,  crisp  fashion  the  pur- 
pose of  your  speech,  the  main  headings  and 
your  method  of  presentation.  This  is  the 
method  of  the  debater  and  the  lawyer  in  his 
opening  remarks  to  the  jury.  The  plain,  frank 
character  of  this  method  holds  a  certain  appeal 
to  the  average  man  in  the  audience.  It  should 
commend  itself  to  the  speaker  when  it  is  desir- 
able above  all  to  win  the  confidence  of  the 
hearers  in  his  simple,  above-board  attitude. 


PREPARING  THE  SPEECH  77 

I 

In  using  any  of  the  foregoing  methods,  be 
careful  of  two  things.  First,  do  not  select  an 
introduction  which  is  so  much  more  interesting 
or  so  much  more  important  in  subject  matter 
I  than  the  remainder  of  your  speech,  that  it  will 
put  you  at  a  disadvantage  in  holding  the  atten- 
tion.    In  other  words,  the  tail  should  not  wag 

I   the  dog. Second,  an  introduction  should  never 

antagonize  any  part  of  the  audience.     This  is 
particularly  important  when  your  speech  is 
,   argumentative.     Frequently  a  political  talker 
I  will  open  with  a  partisan  remark  which  closes 
the  ears  of  every  neutral  in  the  audience.    In 
every  argument  there  is  common  ground.    Be- 
gin there  and  gradually  turn  the  attention  to 
your  side  of  the  issue.    There  is,  however,  one 
exception  to  this  rule.     Where  your  audience 
i  is  openly  hostile,  an  initial  "blow  between  the 
I  eyes"  will  sometimes  secure  more  attention 
1  and  respect  than  honeyed  phrases.     A  classic 
I  example  of  this  happened  in  the  national  cam- 
I  paign  of  1900.     As  the  Republican  candidate 
for  vice-president,    Roosevelt  was   sent   into 
I  Nebraska,  the  home  of  Bryan  and  Free  Silver. 
The  audience  at  one  meeting  was  as  hostile 


78         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING  _ 

as  a  group  of  Bolshevists  would  be  at  a 
directors'  meeting.  A  death-like  silence,  like 
the  calm  before  a  storm,  greeted  the  speaker's 
arrival.  He  broke  the  tension  with  these 
words,  biting  off  each  syllable  with  character- 
istic precision: 

"Ladies  and  Gentlemen:  The  Republican 
Party  stands  for  the  Gold  Standard;  and  it 
stands  for  the  Gold  Standard  in  the  State  of 
Nebraska  just  as  it  stands  for  the  Gold  Stand- 
ard in  the  State  of  New  York." 

The  audience  burst  into  tears. 

Conclusion 

Orators  of  the  old  school  made  a  great  deal 
of  the  peroration.  They  always  worked  out  a 
closing  appeal  with  a  view  to  stirring  the 
emotions  of  the  audience  to  the  highest  pitch. 
Time  has  changed  the  popularity  of  this  prac- 
tice, but  the  need  of  a  strong  ending  is  still 
present  and  always  will  be.  The  last  para- 
graph of  a  speech  is  like  the  last  course  of  a 
dinner.  If  it  is  bad,  it  destroys  much  of  the 
joy  that  went  before;  if  it  is  good,  we  leave 
the  table  with  that  contented  feeling  which 


PREPARING  THE  SPEECH  79 

tends  to  wipe  out  the  memory  of  everything 
unpleasant  that  preceded  it. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  concrete  directions  for 
closing  a  speech.  But  a  few  rules  will  help. 
Above  all,  the  ending  should  be  strong  with 
ring  and  sting.  Where  it  is  possible,  the  last 
paragraph  should  summarize  and  tie  together 
all  that  has  been  said  in  the  body  of  the  speech, 
so  as  to  make  the  unity  of  the  whole  stand  out. 
Where  the  purpose  of  the  speech  is  to  secure 
action,  the  closing  remarks  should  take  the 
form  of  an  appeal. 

Here  is  one  instance  where  an  exception  to 
the  rule  against  memorizing  your  speech  might 
be  pleaded.  Webster's  command  of  oratorical 
language  was  so  masterful,  that  he  rarely  paid 
any  attention  to  the  exact  words  he  would 
use  until  he  got  on  his  feet.  But  he  always 
worked  out  and  memorized  a  strong  closing 
paragraph. 

Another  suggestion  might  be  made  here. 
It  is  always  profitable  to  leave  an  audience  in 
a  happy  frame  of  mind.  A  happy  closing 
sentence  might  win  applause  for  an  otherwise 
mediocre  address.     In  talking  to  an  entering 


80         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

class  at  Hamilton  College,  Elihu  Root  selected 
as  his  subject  the  effect  of  education  on  the 
physical  beauty  of  the  face.  He  told  them 
how  knowledge  and  wisdom  threw  a  certain 
charm  over  the  features  of  the  ugly,  and  how 
mental  stagnation  and  ignorance  clouded  the 
attractiveness  of  the  face  of  perfect  propor- 
tions. The  speech  was  a  bit  abstract,  but  the 
closing  sentence  left  a  feeling  which  is  still 
remembered  by  those  who  heard  it: 

"I  hope  you  will  all  grow  in  wisdom  and 
truth  until  your  beauty  will  surpass  that  of  the 
president  and  faculty  of  Hamilton  College." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

LINES  OF  DEVELOPMENT 

The  preceding  chapters  have  dealt  only  with 
those  principles  of  speech  construction  which 
the  beginner  can  appreciate  and  apply.  This 
chapter  aims  to  open  the  door  to  new  fields  of 
improvement  and  development. 

Importance  of  Clear  Thinking 

Language  is  but  a  means  to  an  end;  it  is 
only  a  vehicle  for  thought.  Unless  the  speaker 
has  something  worth  while  to  say,  the  highly 
developed  transportation  system  is  of  little 
use.  Is  the  product  of  your  thinking  worth 
the  freight?  Yes,  provided  it  is  the  product 
of  your  best  thinking.  Nature  never  repeats. 
The  Creator  has  given  every  being  a  certain 
individuality  which  makes  his  thinking  differ- 
ent from  that  of  every  other  being.  But  few 
have  the  faith,  the  courage  and  the  industry  to 
dig  deep  enough  into  the  mine  of  their  own 
brains  to  find  the  precious  metal. 
[81] 


82         ESSENTIALS   OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

Two  of  the  greatest  thinkers  in  American 
history  have  bequeathed  to  us  the  secret  of 
their  power: 

"When  I  got  on  such  a  hunt  for  an  idea,  and 
until  I  got  it,  or  I  thought  I  had  got  it,  I  was 
not  satisfied  until  I  had  repeated  it  over  and 
over,  until  I  had  put  it  in  language  plain 
enough,  as  I  thought,  for  any  boy  I  knew  to 
comprehend.  This  was  a  kind  of  passion  with 
me.  It  has  stuck  by  me,  for  I  am  never  easy 
now  when  I  am  handling  a  case  until  I  have 
bounded  it  north,  and  bounded  it  south,  and 
bounded  it  east,  and  bounded  it  west." 

— Abraham  Lincoln. 

"Men  give  me  some  credit  for  genius.  All 
the  genius  I  have  lies  in  this:  When  I  have  a 
subject  in  hand,  I  study  it  profoundly.  Day 
and  night  it  is  before  me.  I  explore  it  in  all 
its  bearings.  My  mind  becomes  pervaded 
with  it.  Then  the  effort  which  I  make  is  what 
the  people  are  pleased  to  call  the  fruits  of 
genius.     It  is  the  fruit  of  labor  and  thought." 

— Alexander  Hamilton. 


LINES  OF  DEVELOPMENT  83 

The  speaker  must  see  the  idea  clearly  with 
his  own  mind's  eye  before  he  can  hope  to 
make  it  apparent  to  the  mental  vision  of 
others.  He  must  examine  the  subject  from 
every  angle  —  above,  below  and  around  — 
probing  every  inch  of  the  ground  by  self- 
questioning.  Discussion  of  a  subject  with  a 
friend  enables  the  speaker  to  detach  himself 
from  the  ideas  and  to  see  them  from  a  new 
viewpoint.  He  sometimes  finds  that  his  own 
ears  are  good  critics  in  detecting  the  shallow- 
ness of  his  thinking  or  the  flaws  of  his  reason- 
ing. Above  all,  the  practice  will  reveal  the 
degree  of  clearness  which  the  ideas  have 
assumed. 

In  order  to  get  the  benefit  of  many  view- 
points, some  speakers  and  writers  make  it  a 
practice  never  to  part  with  a  subject  until  they 
have  considered  it  for  a  certain  length  of  time 
and  during  every  part  of  the  day.  Experience 
teaches  all  that  the  problem  which  seems 
fraught  with  obstacles  at  night  takes  on  a 
hopeful  appearance  when  viewed  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  many  a  morning's  worry  fades  to  a 
shadow  when  considered  by  lamplight.     Each 


84         ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

speaker  must  study  his  own  nature  and  make 
the  most  of  his  knowledge  of  self. 

Rhetoric 

Rhetoric  has  been  defined  as  the  art  of 
writing  or  speaking  effectively.  It  embraces 
all  phases  of  discourse — vocabulary,  gram- 
mar, style,  figures  of  speech,  etc.  Inasmuch 
as  we  are  considering  oral  discourse  alone,  we 
can  eliminate  such  elements  as  punctuation 
and  spelling.  We  are  training  the  ear  and  not 
the  eye. 

Reading  Aloud 

Modern  methods  of  teaching  languages  in 
our  schools  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the 
Creator  gave  each  race  a  set  of  rules  of  gram- 
mar with  instructions  to  build  up  a  language 
in  accordance  therewith.  Students  labor  for 
hours  over  the  study  of  syntax,  write  pages 
and  pages  of  composition,  and  then  proceed 
to  butcher  their  mother  tongue  in  conversation 
outside  the  class-room.  The  fault  lies  in 
the  failure  to  follow  in  teaching  the  great 
truth  that  language  is  a  science  of  the  ear  and 


LINES  OF  DEVELOPMENT  85 

not  of  the  eye.  A  child  who  hears  good  Eng- 
lish in  the  home  will  speak  good  English  even 
though  he  never  learns  a  single  rule  of  gram- 
mar. His  ear  has  been  trained  to  the  music 
of  the  language  and  does  not  need  to  apply 
rules  in  order  to  detect  a  discord. 

The  shortest  cut  to  the  mastery  of  good 
English  is  the  cultivation  of  the  habit  of  read- 
ing aloud  passages  from  standard  authors. 
Make  that  the  basis  of  your  study  of  the  lan- 
guage. The  style  of  oral  discourse  differs 
from  that  of  written  discourse.  It  is  prefer- 
able, therefore,  to  read  the  works  of  great 
speakers — Burke,  Hamilton,  Webster  or  Lin- 
coln. 

Vocabulary 

A  good  vocabulary  means  something  more 
than  the  ability  to  define  a  large  number  of 
words;  it  means  the  ability  and  practice  of 
using  those  words  in  writing  or  speaking. 
Increasing  one's  vocabulary  necessitates  syste- 
matic labor.  Most  masters  of  English  employ 
some  scheme  of  daily  effort  in  adding  new 
words  to  their  list.     There  is  a  simple  method 


86         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

which    everyone    can    follow    to    advantage. 
When  you  chance  upon  a  word  which  is  new 
or  which  you  are  not  accustomed  to  use,  look 
up  its  meaning  in  a  dictionary.     When  you 
are  satisfied  that  its  meaning  is  clear  to  you, 
use  it  in  four  or  fiYe  sentences.     By  uttering 
the  word  aloud,  you  make  it  your  own,  and 
you  will  be  surprised  to  find  that  you  will 
probably  have  use  for  it  before  the  day  is  over. 
A  refined  use  of  the  mother  tongue  demands 
not  only  a  large  stock  of  words  but  discrimina- 
tion in  their  selection.     Every  word  has  cer- 
tain shades  of  meaning  which  no  other  single 
word  possesses.     If  you  would  acquire  this 
refined  choice  of  words,  consult  a  book  of 
synonyms  and  antonyms.    Take,  for  instance, 
the  word  emissary.     The  ordinary  dictionary 
defines  it  as  a  spy  or  scout.    Fernald's  "Eng- 
lish Synonyms,  Antonyms  and  Prepositions" 
groups    spy,    detective,    emissary    and    scout 
under  one  heading,  with  this  explanation: 

"The  scout  and  the  spy  are  both  employed 
to  obtain  information  of  the  numbers,  move- 
ments, etc.,  of  an  enemy.  The  scout  lurks  on 
the  outskirts  of  the  hostile  army  with  such 


LINES  OF  DEVELOPMENT  87 

concealment  as  the  case  admits  of,  but  without 
disguise;  a  spy  enters  in  disguise  within  tlie 
enemy's  lines.  A  scout,  if  captured,  has  the 
rights  of  a  prisoner  of  war;  a  spy  is  held  to 
have  forfeited  all  rights,  and  is  liable,  in  case 
of  capture,  to  capital  punishment.  An  emis- 
sary is  rather  political  than  military;  sent 
rather  to  secretly  influence  opponents  than  to 
bring  information  concerning  them;  so  far  as 
he  does  the  latter,  he  is  not  only  an  emissary, 
but  a  5/)j." 

There  is  no  study  more  fascinating  than  the 
study  of  words.  Once  begun,  the  habit  of  in- 
quiring into  the  precise  meaning  of  the  units 
of  language  becomes  irresistible. 

Grammar 

The  rules  of  grammar  are  so  numerous  that 
unless  the  student  has  had  a  good  grounding 
in  the  science  the  better  method  of  learning 
good  usage  is  to  train  the  ear  to  the  sounds  of 
correct  English.  Silent  reading  is  of  some 
help,  but  the  number  of  students  who  pass 
written  examinations  in  English  with  flying 
colors  and  then  proceed  to  violate  every  rule 


88         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

in  conversation  indicates  the  necessity  of 
teaching  grammar  as  an  oral  rather  than  as  a 
visual  science.  Some  of  the  more  common 
errors  have  been  illustrated  in  the  following 
sentences.  In  each  case,  the  second  is  the 
correct  one.  Read  it  aloud  at  least  six  times 
in  order  to  accustom  the  ear  and  the  lips  to 
the  correct  usage. 


I  don't  know,  he  dont  know,  you  don't  know. 
I  don't  know,  he  doesn't  know,  you  don't  know. 

Between  you  and  /,  the  company  is  bankrupt. 
Between  you  and  me,  the  company  is  bankrupt. 

When  I  hear  of  you  going,  I  shall  follow. 
When  I  hear  of  your  going,  I  shall  follow. 

It  is  me. 
It  is  /. 

He  runs  too  slow  for  the  team. 
He  runs  too  slowly  for  the  team. 

He  is  not  near  so  tall  as  I  am. 
He  is  not  nearly  so  tall  is  I  am. 

Such  a  course  is  no  use. 
Such  a  course  is  of  no  use. 

You  better  prepare  before  speaking. 
You  had  better  prepare  before  speaking. 


LINES  OF  DEVELOPMENT  89 

1.  Last  night  we  come  home  in  the  rain. 

2.  Last  night  we  came  home  in  the  xain. 

1.  Those  kind  always  fail. 

2.  That  kind  always  fails,  or 
Those  kinds  always  fail. 

1.  I  don't  know  as  I  would  say  that. 

2.  I  don't  know  that  I  would  say  that. 

1.  The  size  of  audiences  vary. 

2.  The  size  of  audiences  varies. 

1.  Betiveen  the  three  of  them  there  was  but  five 

dollars. 

2.  Among  the  three  of  them  there  was  but  five 

dollars. 

1.  He  is  up  to  the  theatre. 

2.  He  is  at  the  theatre. 

1.  He  has  been  thrown  in  the  pit. 

2.  He  has  been  thrown  into  the  pit. 

1.  Can  I  have  permission  to  inspect  it? 

2.  May  I  have  permission  to  inspect  it? 

1.  I  don't  care  what  you  think  of  me,  I  shall  speak 

and  you  will  listen. 

2.  I  don't  care  what  you  think  of  me,  I  will  speak 

and  you  shall  listen. 

1.  He  went  like  he  came. 

2.  He  went  as  he  came. 


90 


ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 


He  hadn't  ought  to  swim  in  such  places. 
He  ought  not  to  swim  in  such  places. 

To  safely  cross  the  river  in  such  weather 

quires  good  seamanship. 
To  cross  the  river  safely  in  such  weather 

quires  good  seamanship. 

I  will  either  hire  you  on  commission  or 

straight  salary. 
I  will  hire  you  either  on  commission  or 

straight  salary. 

I  think  I  shall  lay  down  for  an  hour. 
I  think  I  shall  lie  down  for  an  hour. 


re- 


re- 


on 


on 


1.  He  would  of  done  it,  had  I  permitted  it. 

2.  He  would  have  done  it,  had  I  permitted  it. 

1.  Stand  in  back  of  him. 

2.  Stand  behind  him. 

1.  I  saw  them  girls  yesterday. 

2.  I  saw  those  girls  yesterday. 

1.  He  who  I  trusted  has  deceived  me. 

2.  He  whom  I  trusted  has  deceived  me. 


Style 

Style  is  the  manner  of  expressing  thoughts 
in  language.  It  has  little  to  do  with  think- 
ing; it  is  only  concerned  with  the  means  ol 


LINES  OF  DEVELOPMENT  91 

putting  the  product  of  the  brain  into  tangible 
form.  The  artist  has  a  vision;  the  manner  in 
which  he  uses  his  brushes,  his  colors  and  his 
canvas  to  portray  that  vision  in  concrete  form 
is  his  style  of  painting.  The  speaker  has 
thoughts  and  feelings  and  the  tools  of  lan- 
guage; the  manner  in  which  he  uses  the  tools 
to  interpret  the  creation  of  his  mind  and  soul 
is  his  style. 

There  is  no  standard  style;  as  each  man's 
thinking  is  different  from  that  of  every  other 
man,  so  must  his  manner  of  using  what  tools 
of  language  he  possesses  be  distinctive.  The 
problem  of  perfecting  one's  style  is  a  prob- 
lem of  acquainting  one's  self  with  the  various 
implements  of  language  and  of  attaining  skill 
in  the  use  of  these  implements.  The  latter  is 
largely  a  question  of  practice  and  experience, 
but  the  former  can  be  acquired  by  the  study  of 
language  in  general. 

The  best  style  to  cultivate  is  your  own.  In 
fact,  you  cannot  cultivate  any  other.  "Use 
what  language  you  will,"  says  Emerson,  "you 
can  never  say  anything  but  what  you  are." 
But  that  does  not  mean  that  you  can  perfect 


92         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

your  style  by  confining  your  study  to  yourself. 
Greece,  Rome,  Spain  and  England  reached 
the  height  of  their  civilization  by  profiting 
from  the  successes  and  failures  of  other  civili- 
zations. Burke,  Webster  and  Lincoln  studied 
and  analyzed  the  best  works  of  the  best  minds, 
and  used  the  materials  thus  gained  in  the 
construction  of  their  own  works.  No  man  has 
ever  attained  perfection  in  any  art  without 
making  use  of  the  experiences  of  others.  This 
is  not  imitation.  The  difference  between  the 
imitator  and  the  creator  is  that  the  imitator  is 
content  to  put  a  thin  coat  of  paint  over  the 
house  of  another  and  call  it  his  own,  while] 
the  creator  goes  over  the  house,  makes  a  note 
of  all  the  desirable  features  and  ideas,  and 
makes  use  of  these  best  ideas  in  improvingj 
the  plans  of  his  own. 

In  acquiring  and  perfecting  the  use  of  tht 
tools  of  language,  the  speaker  should  keep  in| 
mind  the  two  cardinal  virtues  of  good  style- 
instant  intelligibility  and  effectiveness.  Un-j 
less  the  audience  can  instantly  perceive  and] 
appreciate  the  expression,  the  speaker's  wordsj 
are   like   so   much   indigestible   food   in  the] 


LINES  OF  DEVELOPMENT  93 

Stomach.  And  unless  that  food  possesses 
nourishment,  it  has  no  stimulating  effect  upon 
the  mind  and  body. 

How  can  a  speaker  acquire  the  tools  of 
effective  style?  Simply  by  studying  and 
analyzing  the  work  of  other  speakers.  Let  us 
take  a  paragraph  from  an  address  on  Roose- 
velt and  investigate  some  of  the  means  by 
which  a  speaker  secures  effect: 

"The  secret  of  Roosevelt's  greatness  was  his 
boundless  courage.  Boldness  stamped  itself 
on  every  deed  in  the  Rough  Rider's  career. 
The  marvelous  physique  which  enabled  the 
ex-President  to  push  into  the  darkest  regions 
of  Africa  and  Brazil  was  not  a  gift  of  birth, 
but  the  trophy  of  a  youth's  battle  with  asthma 
and  a  sickly  constitution.  His  second  election 
to  the  New  York  Assembly — his  first  political 
victory — was  the  answer  to  a  challenge  of  the 
organization  that  would  have  shattered  the 
spirit  of  an  ordinary  warrior.  As  Police 
Commissioner,  when  his  program  of  reform 
evoked  dire  threats  from  the  underworld,  he 
carried  out  his  orders  by  personal  visits  to 
the  caves  of  lawlessness — at  night.    When  the 


94         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

arrogant  Kaiser,  like  the  bully  of  the  street, 
gathered  around  him  the  nations  of  Europe 
in  an  attempt  to  frighten  little  Venezuela  into 
submission,  he  encountered  not  the  gloved 
hand  of  a  diplomat  sparring  for  time  while 
the  typewriters  clicked  out  feeble  protests,  but 
the  clenched  fist  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,  ready 
to  strike.  Well  chosen  were  the  words  of  his 
son  Archie  when  Death  had  stabbed  him  in  the 
dark:  "The  old  lion  is  dead." 

I. — Unity.  The  entire  paragraph  deals  with 
but  one  idea — the  courage  of  Roosevelt  as  the 
main  cause  of  his  greatness.  Nothing  leads 
the  mind  into  any  other  channel  of  thought. 

II. — Repetition.  The  first  sentence  expresses 
the  key-note  of  the  paragraph.  The  thought, 
however,  is  strengthened  by  repetition  in  the 
second.  The  remaining  sentences  develop  the 
idea  by  citing  specific  instances  in  his  career 
in  support  of  the  general  statement  in  the  first 
and  second.  Notice  how  each  succeeding  in- 
stance is  more  striking  than  the  last,  thus 
strengthening  the  assertion  by  climactic  ar- 
rangement. 

III. — Sentences.    No  sentence  ends  weakly. 


i 


LINES  OF  DEVELOPMENT  95 

The  gist  of  the  thought  comes  at  the  end, 
thereby  keeping  up  the  interest  of  the  reader 
until  the  last  word  is  spoken. 

IV. — Concreteness.  Every  sentence  is  ex- 
pressed in  words  which  call  up  distinct  mental 
images.  The  reader  need  not  expend  more 
than  a  minimum  amount  of  mental  energy  to 
grasp  the  thought. 

V. — Figures  of  Speech,  "Death  had  stabbed 
him  in  the  dark"  is  a  figure  of  speech  known 
as  personification  because  it  attributes  to 
inanimate  things  the  characteristics  of  living 
beings.  "Like  the  bully  of  the  street"  is  a 
simile.  A  simile  is  a  figure  of  speech  which 
compares  one  thing  with  another.  A  better 
illustration  of  this  figure  can  be  found  in  the 
sentence,  "A  man  without  ambition  is  like  a 
bird  without  wings."  When  the  comparison 
is  implied,  the  figure  is  known  as  a  metaphor; 
"he  can  never  soar  in  the  heights  above,  but 
must  walk  like  a  weakling,  unnoticed,  with 
the  crowd  below." 

The  figure  "The  old  lion  is  dead"  is  called 
an  epithet,  a  very  effective  means  of  compari- 
son.    A  recent  writer  referred  to  Joffre  as 


96         ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

"The  Gibraltar  of  the  Marne,"  another  excel- 
lent illustration  of  epithet. 

The  purpose  of  figures  of  speech  is  to  secure 
clearness  or  emphasis  and  to  stir  the  imagina- 
tion. The  speaker  who  uses  his  imagination 
to  bring  forth  fresh  comparisons  has  a  very 
effective  weapon  in  speaking.  To  quote  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes: 

"There  is  no  power  I  envy  so  much — as 
that  of  seeing  analogues  and  making  compar- 
isons. I  don't  understand  how  it  is  that  some 
minds  are  continually  coupling  thoughts  or 
objects  that  seem  not  in  the  least  related  to 
each  other,  until  all  at  once  they  are  put  in  a 
certain  light  and  you  wonder  that  you  did  not 
always  see  that  they  were  as  like  as  a  pair  of 
twins.  It  appears  to  me  a  sort  of  miraculous 
gift." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

QUESTIONNAIRE 

The  value  of  self -questioning  as  a  means 
of  putting  forth  your  best  effort  cannot  be 
overestimated.  It  is  a  necessary  habit  for  all 
whose  goal  is  perfection.  The  following 
questionnaire  is  not  designed  as  a  guide  in 
preparing  the  speech,  although  it  may  be  used 
as  such.  But  it  does  give  the  student  a  series 
of  checks  that  will  enable  him  to  criticize  and 
improve  his  preparation  before  delivery.  It 
is  purposely  brief.  The  ambitious  student 
will  make  the  most  of  his  experience  and  that 
of  others  by  constructing  a  questionnaire  that 
will  remind  him  of  his  shortcomings  and 
weaknesses. 

Subject 

A.     Scope 

1.  What  is  the  subject  of  your  speech? 
Can  you  summarize  it  in  one  compact  sentence? 

[97] 


98         ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

2.  Are  you  trying  to  cover  too  much  ground? 
Can  you  not  strengthen  the  effect  by  confining 
yourself  to  a  smaller  division  of  the  sub- 
ject? 

3.  Can  you  cover  your  point  in  the  allotted 
time?  Have  you  actually  timed  its  delivery 
to  make  sure? 

B.     Purpose 

1.  Which  of  the  ^we  purposes  of  speaking 
is  yours — entertainment,  instruction,  impres- 
siveness,  persuasion  or  appeal? 

2.  State  your  purpose  in  one  compact  sen- 
tence. Are  you  endeavoring  to  accomplish 
more  than  your  material  and  time  warrant? 

3.  Have  you  given  adequate  consideration 
to  the  character  of  the  audience,  the  occasion, 
and  the  time?  Can  you  visualize  all  the  con- 
ditions under  which  you  will  speak? 

Material 

1.  Have  you  gathered  real  material  for 
your  talk?  Or  are  you  relying  merely  on 
your  feelings  to  carry  you  through? 

2.  Is  all  your  material  in  keeping  with  your 


QUESTIONNAIRE  99 

subject?    Does  any  of  it  tend  to  lead  the  mind 
of  the  audience  into  other  channels? 

3.  //  your  aim  is  entertainment^  have  you 
selected  your  material  with  a  view  to  holding 
the  attention  every  second  of  the  time?  Is 
your  humor  fresh?  Have  you  made  use  of 
such  factors  as  the  vital,  the  uncertain,  the 
unusual,  the  concrete,  the  animate,  the  antag- 
onistic? Will  you  leave  the  audience  in  a 
happy  frame  of  mind? 

4.  //  your  purpose  is  instruction,  have  you 
made  every  point  clear?  Have  you  likened 
the  unknown  to  the  known?  If  you  are  using 
technical  terms,  are  they  known  to  your  audi- 
ence? If  not,  will  you  make  them  perfectly 
clear  before  using  them? 

5.  //  your  purpose  is  impressiveness,  have 
you  selected  material  that  will  "get  under  the 
skin"?  Will  it  stir  the  emotions  and  feelings 
of  the  audience?  Have  you  made  full  use  of 
repetition?  Can  you  quote  a  well  known  man 
or  woman  to  advantage?  Are  your  illustra- 
tions and  specific  instances  striking? 

6.  //  your  purpose  is  persuasion,  do  your 
arguments  prove   your  point?      Considering 


100       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

each  argument  separately,  does  it  lead  to  the 
conclusion  asserted?  Have  you  made  use  of 
repetition  and  suggestion?  Can  you  strengthen 
your  case  by  citing  testimony?  Have  you 
reduced  your  arguments  to  the  simplest  terms? 

7.  //  your  purpose  is  appeal,  have  you  con- 
sidered the  motives  which  lead  men  to  act- 
self-preservation,  love,  property,  knowledge 
and  power,  good  name,  emotions  and  beliefs? 
If  you  cannot  use  all,  have  you  chosen  those 
you  are  best  fitted  to  employ?  Will  they  move 
the  particular  audience  you  are  to  address? 

8.  Is  your  material  concrete?  Does  it  deal 
in  mental  images?  Have  you  considered  the 
mental  energy  of  the  audience?  Do  your 
illustrations  and  specific  instances  come  within 
the  knowledge  and  experience  of  your  hearers? 

9.  Are  your  figures  of  speech  fresh?  Do 
they  add  clearness  or  emphasis?  Do  they  stir 
the  imagination? 

Construction 

A.     Introduction 

1.  Will  your  opening  paragraph  secure 
attention? 


QUESTIONNAIRE    ;\-      ii'i'lOJ'tV 

2.  Is  it  brief?     Can  you  not  shorten  it? 

3.  Does  it  contain  the  key-note  of  your 
whole  talk? 

4.  Will  it  antagonize  any  portion  of  the 
audience?  Will  it  secure  good-will  toward 
yourself  and  your  subject? 

5.  If  you  open  with  an  anecdote,  quotation 
or  striking  statement,  are  you  sure  it  is  in 
keeping  with  the  entire  speech?  Will  it  arouse 
an  interest  or  a  curiosity  which  the  remainder 
of  your  speech  will  meet? 

B.     Body 

1.  Outline  your  speech  in  the  form  of  head- 
ings and  sub-headings.  Is  the  arrangement 
logical?  Will  the  audience  follow  your 
sequence  with  a  minimum  of  effort?  Is  your 
material  classified  so  as  to  avoid  confusion 
of  ideas? 

2.  Is  the  speech  so  arranged  as  to  heighten 
the  interest  as  it  goes  along?  Does  the  climax 
come  at  the  end? 

3.  Have  you  rested  the  mind  of  the  audi- 
ence by  following  the  high  spots  with  lighter 
material? 


][<)2*;*iiSfSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

4.  Experiment  with  your  arrangement.  Put 
your  headings  in  different  order.  Can  you 
gain  greater  clearness  and  effect  by  changing 
the  sequence  of  your  paragraphs? 

C.     Conclusion 

1.  Does  your  closing  leave  a  strong  impres- 
sion?    Does  it  drive  the  point  home? 

2.  Does  it  summarize  all  that  has  gone  be- 
fore? 

3.  Is  it  not  desirable  to  write  out  your  end- 
ing and  memorize  it? 

4.  Does  the  conclusion  leave  the  audience 
in  the  proper  frame  of  mind? 

5.  Does  it  tie  up  with  your  introduction? 

Miscellaneous 

1.  Have  you  tested  the  effectiveness  of  your 
speech  in  conversation? 

2.  Have  you  reviewed  your  speech  at  vari- 
ous times  of  the  day?     Have  you  tested  it] 
from  every  viewpoint  and  in  every  mood? 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DELIVERY  IN  GENERAL 

Lord  Erskine,  England's  eloquent  barrister, 
once  confessed  that  when  he  addressed  the 
court  for  the  first  time  he  was  so  overcome 
with  confusion  that  he  wanted  to  sit  down. 
"At  that  time,"  he  added,  "I  fancied  I  could 
feel  my  little  children  tugging  at  my  gown,  so 
I  made  an  effort — went  on — and  succeeded." 

It  is  doubtful  whether  Lord  Erskine  could 
have  bequeathed  to  posterity  a  more  valuable 
legacy  than  that  confession.  It  should  fill 
every  beginning  speaker  with  hope.  Facing 
an  audience  for  the  first  time  takes  courage; 
and  if  a  man  of  Lord  Erskine's  parts  was 
confused,  it  is  no  disgrace  for  lesser  mortals 
to  hesitate.  "I  made  an  effort — went  on — 
and  succeeded."  Those  words  contain  the 
secret  of  success  in  overcoming  the  hobgoblin 
of  the  platform.  If  the  student  will  make  an 
effort — go  on — he  is  bound  to  succeed. 

In  considering  the  second  division  of  the 
[103] 


104      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

subject  of  speaking — delivery — we  are  not 
going  to  enter  any  chambers  of  mystery. 
Every  phase  of  this  branch  of  the  subject  has 
been  considered  consciously  or  subconsciously 
by  every  normal  man.  Everyone  has  applied 
at  some  time  or  other  each  of  the  virtues  in 
ordinary  conversation.  But  good  speaking 
requires  that  we  employ  them  all. 

It  is  a  cardinal  rule  of  nature  that  we  lose 
those  faculties  which  we  do  not  use.  The 
bedridden  patient  finds  on  recovering  health 
that  his  legs  will  not  support  his  body.  The 
shipwrecked  sailor,  living  alone  on  an  island 
for  a  protracted  period,  must  learn  again  how 
to  talk.  Few  of  us  keep  alive  by  daily  prac- 
tice all  the  virtues  of  speech  and  gesticula- 
tion. It  is  necessary,  therefore,  to  call  atten- 
tion to  them  and  to  awaken  their  proper  func- 
tioning. 

Both  delivery  and  composition  must  act  in 
harmony  to  perform  the  one  purpose  of  speak- 
ing— to  convey  to  the  mind  of  the  listener  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  precisely  as  they  are 
perceived  and  felt  by  the  speaker.  This  neces- 
sity for  harmony  leads  us  to  the  first  rule  for 


DELIVERY  IN  GENERAL  105 

good  delivery — earnestness.  Many  have  pro- 
pounded the  question,  "What  is  the  chief  asset 
in  good  delivery?"  And  the  answer  is — 
earnestness — enthusiasm. 

What  is  earnestness  and  enthusiasm?  Is  it 
not  a  result  rather  than  a  means?  Yes  and  No. 
When  you  tell  a  man  to  put  enthusiasm  into 
his  speaking,  he  is  inclined  to  regard  the 
direction  in  the  same  way  in  which  he  would 
receive  the  advice,  "Be  rich."  Real  enthusi- 
asm in  speaking  is  the  result  of  a  gripping  of 
the  heart  as  well  as  the  head.  Until  the 
speaker  has  lived  with  his  subject  a  sufficient 
length  of  time  to  realize  its  importance,  he 
cannot  exhibit  sincere  enthusiasm.  Much, 
therefore,  depends  upon  turning  the  subject 
over  and  over  in  your  mind  until  you  appreci- 
ate all  the  points  of  contact  between  it  and 
the  occasion.  Unless  the  salesman  believes 
in  his  article,  he  cannot  hope  to  attain  much 
success  in  selling  it.  But  many  who  believe 
fail  to  sell.  Here  steps  in  the  old  adage  which 
bids  us  to  acquire  a  virtue  by  assuming  it. 
On  first  consideration,  this  sounds  like  coun- 
seling a  man  to  build  a  roof  before  digging 


106      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

the  cellar.  But  experience  has  proven  that 
when  a  speaker  assumes  the  virtue  of  enthusi- 
asm, his  real  enthusiasm,  dormant  but  never 
dead,  rises  to  meet,  support  and  join  it.  Try 
it.  Go  on  the  platform  with  the  attitude  that 
your  message  is  the  most  important  in  world's 
history,  and  you  will  soon  find  that  your  whole 
soul  is  engaged  in  the  task. 

When  a  speaker  is  enthusiastic,  he  is  neces- 
sarily concentrated  on  his  subject.  And  con- 
centration of  the  mind  gives  free  play  to  all 
the  natural  movements  of  the  voice  and  body 
which  we  shall  discuss. 

We  have  seen  that  the  listener  has  neither 
the  energy  nor  the  time  to  go  over  and  over 
your  language,  as  he  can  in  reading,  to  grasp 
your  meaning.  A  speech  must  make  an  im- 
mediate impression  or  fail  of  its  object.  The 
elements  of  delivery  which  we  are  about  to 
consider  are  the  means  of  aiding  the  audience 
to  grasp  the  meaning  of  your  words  as  they 
are  uttered. 

Every  impression  which  the  outside  world 
makes  upon  the  mind  must  travel  by  one  of 
the  five  senses.     Only  two  of  these  are  avail- 


DELIVERY  IN  GENERAL  107 

able  to  the  speaker — hearing  and  seeing.  We 
therefore  divide  the  subject  of  delivery  into 
two  parts — that  which  affects  the  ear,  and 
that  which  affects  the  eye. 


CHAPTER  X. 

ENUNCIATION 

Without  discussing  Roosevelt's  place  in 
history  as  an  orator,  there  is  no  doubt  but  that 
the  Colonel  was  a  very  effective  speaker. 
Critics  mentioned  his  strong  presence,  virile 
gestures  and  earnestness,  but  few  spoke  of  the 
most  effective  element  of  his  delivery — his 
precise  enunciation.  He  always  spoke  in  a 
slow,  measured  manner  that  seemed  to  glory 
in  the  beauty  of  every  syllable.  The  most 
commonplace  words  and  phrases  came  from 
his  lips  with  a  force  and  dignity  of  meaning 
that  made  the  idea  behind  them  bristle  with 
life  and  color. 

Our  language,  the  most  beautiful  in  the 
world,  receives  cruel  treatment  from  the  lips 
of  the  average  American.  Whether  because 
of  our  disregard  for  the  fine  arts  or  because 
of  tlie  influence  of  so  many  foreign-bom  resi- 
dents, we  are  careless  and  slovenly  in  our 
every-day  utterance.  What  is  the  remedy? 
[108] 


ENUNCIATION  109 

Roosevelt's  biographer,  William  Roscoe 
Thayer,  states  that  when  in  college  the  future 
President  found  it  very  difficult  to  speak  be- 
cause of  asthma.  His  enunciation  was  indis- 
tinct and  his  syllables  frequently  telescoped. 
But  the  will  to  win  that  transformed  a  weak 
body  into  a  powerful  machine  of  muscle  and 
sinew,  would  not  rest  until  it  had  turned  a 
defective  speech  into  an  exceptionally  accu- 
i  rate  one.  If  your  enunciation  is  careless, 
improve  it  by  concentrating  on  the  task  of 
perfecting  it  to  the  highest  degree. 

Slovenly  enunciation  is  due  to  the  laziness 
of  the  muscles  of  the  mouth,  tongue  and  lips, 
and   to   improper   co-ordination   between   the 
positions  of  the  tongue  and  teeth.     Gradually 
these  little  muscles  of  the  mouth  become  soft 
and  weak  from  lack  of  exercise.    Put  them  to 
work,  and  work  them  so  hard  that  they  will 
j  develop  a  strength  that  will  crave  for  exercise 
I  in  every-day  utterance.  Read  aloud  the  f  ollow- 
!  ing  passage  from  one  of  Roosevelt's  speeches. 
i  Read  it  in  syllables,  opening  the  mouth  verti- 
cally as  well  as  laterally,  and  exaggerate  the 
enunciation  of  every  sound: 


110      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

"It  must  be  un-der-stood,  as  a  mat-ter  of 
course,  that  if  this  pow-er  is  grant-ed  it  is  to 
be  ex-er-cised  with  wis-dom  and  cau-tion  and 
self -re-stra int.  The  In-ter- state  Com-merce 
Com-mis-sion  or  oth-er  Gov-ern-ment  of-ficial 
who  failed  to  pro-tect  a  rail-road  that  was 
in  the  right  a-gainst  an-y  clam-or,  no  mat- 
ter how  vi-o-lent,  on  the  part  of  the  pub-lie, 
would  be  guilt-y  of  as  gross  a  wrong  as  if 
he  cor-rupt-ly  ren-dered  an  im-prop-er  ser-vice 
to  the  rail-road  at  the  ex-pense  of  the  pub-lie. 
When  I  say  a  square  deal  I  mean  a  square 
deal;  ex-actly  as  much  a  square  deal  for  the 
rich  man  as  for  the  poor  man;  but  no  more. 
Let  each  stand  on  his  mer-its,  re-ceive  what  is 
due  him,  and  be  judged  ac-cord-ing  to  his  de- 
serts. To  more  he  is  not  en-ti-tled,  and  less 
he  shall  not  have." 

"I  could  hear  every  word  he  said."  How 
often  have  we  heard  that  comment  from  a 
member  of  an  audience?  Nothing  in  a 
speaker's  delivery  is  more  desirable  than  a 
clean-cut  enunciation  that  gives  full  expres- 
sion to  every  syllable.  But  platform  speaking 
demands  more  careful  enunciation  than  ordi- 


ENUNCIATION  111 

nary  conversation,  so  that  if  you  want  to  ac- 
quire this  asset  in  your  speaking,  you  must 
cultivate  greater  care  in  conversation.  The 
habit  of  reading  aloud  very  slowly  enables 
your  ear  to  detect  all  the  little  slurs  and  flaws 
of  your  speech,  just  as  the  athlete  sees  the 
imperfections  in  his  form  when  his  high  jump 
is  reproduced  on  the  screen  with  the  action 
slowed  eight  times  by  means  of  the  ultra-rapid 
camera.  Let  a  man  give  three  minutes  a  day 
to  this  practice  and  he  will  soon  notice  the 
improvement  in  his  speech  both  off"  and  on  the 
platform. 

A  great  deal  of  indistinct  enunciation  on  a 
platform  is  due  to  the  fact  that  the  speaker 
does  not  open  his  mouth  vertically.  The  lower 
jaw  should  be  dropped  so  that  the  complete 
formation  of  the  vowels  should  not  be  handi- 
capped. In  order  to  learn  the  correct  position 
of  the  mouth  in  speaking,  read  aloud  the 
following,  prolonging  all  the  italicized  vowels: 

Rolling  rocks  resoz^nded. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

EMPHASIS 

A  clock's  tick,  a  cow  bell's  tinkle,  and  the 
singing  of  a  lullaby  are  excellent  remedies  for 
insomnia.  In  the  first,  we  have  regularity  of 
rate;  in  the  second,  sameness  of  pitch;  and 
in  the  third,  evenness  of  force  or  stress.  The 
reason  back  of  the  effect  of  each  is  the  fact 
that  the  ear,  like  the  receiving  instrument  of 
a  radio  set,  adjusts  itself  to  one  rate,  one  pitch 
and  one  degree  of  force.  The  stability  of  any 
one  of  these  keeps  the  mechanism  of  the  facul- 
ties of  hearing  in  a  state  of  inaction,  and 
inaction  produces  sleep.  Tire  any  single 
faculty  by  repetition  of  the  same  movement 
and  you  put  the  entire  body  to  sleep.  In 
speaking  we  call  this  sameness  monotony. 
Here  the  old  saying,  "Variety  is  the  spice  of 
life,"  understates  the  fact — "Variety  is  life." 
The  speaker  must,  therefore,  cultivate  all  the 
virtues  of  delivery  that  militate  against  monot- 
ony. And  one  of  the  most  important  of  these 
[112] 


EMPHASIS  113 

virtues,  the  one  we  are  about  to  consider,  is 
emphasis. 

Emphasis  is  often  considered  as  synony- 
mous with  force  or  stress.  But  it  is  a  much 
broader  term.  It  may  be  defined  as  any 
means  whereby  the  speaker  focuses  the  atten- 
tion of  the  audience  on  the  important  words  of 
a  sentence  in  order  to  aid  the  listeners  in 
understanding  his  thought. 

Every  sentence  has  but  a  few  really  import- 
ant words — the  rest  are  merely  connectives 
and  modifiers.  The  speaker's  thought  centers 
around  these  important  words.  If  he  utters 
his  sentences  in  the  same  manner  that  the 
station  agent  chants  his  announcement  of 
trains,  he  throws  upon  the  audience  the  entire 
burden  of  selecting  the  centers  of  his  thought. 
To  increase  the  eff'ect  of  his  words  and  to 
remove  the  burden  from  the  audience,  the 
speaker  must  employ  some  means  of  making 
these  big  words  strike  home. 

If  you  have  ever  read  an  editorial  in  a 
Hearst  newspaper,  you  will  find  the  important 
words  underlined,  capitalized  or  italicized. 
That  is  the  writer's  only  method  of  emphasiz- 


114      ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

ing  the  centers  of  thought  as  the  reader's  eye 
runs  over  the  printed  page.  But  the  speaker 
must  use  other  means,  and  he  is  fortunate  in 
having  a  great  variety,  both  visual  and  audi- 
tory. Leaving  aside  for  the  present  the  visual 
means  (gesticulation),  let  us  consider  the 
methods  which  appeal  to  the  ear. 

I. — The  common  method  of  emphasis  is  the 
use  of  force  or  stress,  a  method,  however, 
which  many  speakers  ignore  completely.  An 
excellent  example  of  the  use  of  stress  as  a 
means  of  emphasis  is  the  following: 

Sir  James:  Now,  pray,  sir,  don't  beat  about 
the  bush,  but  explain  to  his  lordship  and  the 
jury,  who  are  expected  to  know  nothing  about 
music,  the  meaning  of  what  you  call  accent. 

Witness  Cooke:  Accent  in  music  is  a  cer- 
tain stress  laid  upon  a  particular  note  in  the 
same  manner  that  you  would  lay  stress  upon 
a  given  word  for  the  purpose  of  being  better 
understood.  Thus,  if  I  were  to  say,  "You  are 
an  ass  J'  the  accent  rests  on  ass;  but  if  I  were 
to  say,  ''You  are  an  ass,"  it  rests  on  you.  Sir 
James. 


EMPHASIS  115 

If  you  have  difficulty  in  stressing  important 
words,  you  can  acquire  the  art  by  keeping  the 
hands  raised  before  you,  one  palm  over  the 
other,  bringing  them  together  with  a  clap  every 
time  you  utter  a  word  which  you  think  should 
be  emphasized.  The  necessity  of  making 
yourself  heard  above  the  clap  forces  you  un- 
consciously to  give  the  words  greater  force. 

This  method  of  emphasis  includes  the  de- 
crease as  well  as  the  increase  of  stress.  Some- 
times the  lowering  of  the  voice  to  a  whisper 
is  the  most  effective  means  of  making  the  word 
or  words  stand  out.  This  is  particularly  true 
when  we  wish  to  emphasize  contrast,  as  in  the 
following: 

"If  this  is  peace,  give  us  war!" 

II. — We  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter 
that  while  the  short  Anglo-Saxon  words  are 
preferable  to  the  Latinized  ones,  the  longer 
ones  are  sometimes  more  effective.  And  the 
same  reason  that  makes  them  more  effective — 
the  greater  space  of  time  in  which  they  hold 
the  attention  of  the  audience — furnishes  an- 
other means  of  emphasizing  them.     Note  the 


116      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

effect  of  prolonging  the  enunciation  of  the 
italicized  word  in  the  following  sentence: 

"The  Germans  wrote  home  that  the  fire  of  the 
Blue  Devils  was  not  deadly,  but  murderous." 

III. — Raising  or  lowering  the  pitch  of  the 
voice  on  certain  words  is  a  desirable  means  of 
emphasis  when  the  thought  repels  the  idea  of 
emphasis  through  force.  This  is  particularly 
true  when  the  speaker  wishes  to  preserve  a 
mild,  subdued  tone  of  voice.  Note  the  effect 
of  raising  the  voice  slightly  on  the  word  less 
and  lowering  it  on  the  word  more: 

"If,  then,  that  friend  demand  why  Brutus 
rose  against  Caesar,  this  is  my  answer:  not 
that  I  loved  Caesar  less,  but  that  I  loved  Rome 
more." 

IV. — Nothing  is  more  effective  in  focusing 
the  attention  of  the  listener  on  an  important 
word  than  a  pause  immediately  before  it.  The 
void  arouses  the  attention  and  curiosity,  so 
that  the  mind  of  the  listener  is  poised  on  toes 
to  meet  it.  Nearly  every  writer  on  the  subject 
of  speaking  has  lamented  the  fact  that  the 
pause,  the  most  effective  means  of  emphasis, 
is  so  rarely  employed  by  public  speakers.     If 


EMPHASIS  117 

the  student  will  but  learn  its  power  by  forced 
use,  when  it  is  applicable,  he  will  never  fail  to 
make  use  of  it  when  the  opportunity  presents 
itself.  The  dash  in  the  following  represents 
the  place  of  the  pause: 

"I  was  creeping  on  my  stomach,  trying  to 
locate  the  position  of  the  Germans  by  the  light 
of  occasional  flashes.  The  number  of  dead 
bodies  forced  me  to  make  repeated  detours. 
I  passed  them  by  as  I  would  so  much  wreck- 
age. But  one  of  them  arrested  my  attention. 
For  some  reason  it  aroused  my  curiosity.  So 
I  lay  beside  it  until  a  bursting  star  shell  en- 
abled me  to  recognize  the  features.  It  was — 
my  brother." 

It  is  sometimes  advantageous  to  combine 
two  or  more  of  the  foregoing  methods  in  order 
to  gain  the  proper  emphasis.  The  speaker 
should  develop  by  practice  his  use  of  all. 
Then,  if  his  mind  is  concentrated  on  the 
thought  and  feeling  of  his  speech,  his  sub- 
consciousness will  select  the  proper  channel 
or  channels  of  emphasis. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

PITCH 

Every  voice  has  its  own  natural  pitch. 
Some  are  high,  some  are  low,  and  the  rest 
range  between  the  two  extremes.  But  we  are 
concerned  not  so  much  with  the  pitch  of  the 
individual  voice  as  with  the  necessity  of  using 
all  the  variety  that  its  range  affords. 

Variety  of  pitch  in  speaking  is  important 
for  two  reasons:  first,  a  proper  expression  of 
varying  thoughts  and  feelings  requires  a 
sympathetic  tone;  second,  change  of  pitch 
militates  against  the  monotony  which  is  so 
fatal  to  the  life  and  interest  of  the  audience, 
not  to  speak  of  its  reaction  on  the  speaker 
himself. 

Many  instructors  and  writers  on  the  subject 
of  elocution  have  attempted  to  work  out  a 
chart  which  will  guide  the  student  in  selecting 
the  proper  pitch  of  the  voice.  The  following 
will  illustrate  the  classification: 
[118] 


PITCH  119 

Excitement — Very  High  Pitch 

"Oh,  John,  the  house  is  on  fire  and  the 
baby's  lost!     Hurry  up!" 

Enthusiasm — High  Pitch 

"I  have  learned  the  secret  of  effective 
speaking,  and  now  watch  me!  Watch  me, 
I  said!" 

Pleasure  and  Calm  Statement — Medium  Pitch 

"That's  a  beautiful  little  boy  you  have.  Let 
me  play  horse  with  him." 

"Just  follow  the  road  and  you'll  cross  the 
track  in  about  twenty  minutes." 

Seriousness — Low  Pitch 

"You  don't  look  well.  Don't  you  think  you 
should  take  a  vacation?" 

Solemnity — Very  Low  Pitch 

"The  pardon  reached  the  prison  too  late. 
Phelps  had  already  been  executed." 

Your  common  sense  tells  you  that  you 
would  have  used  the  prescribed  pitch  instinc- 
tively in  conversation.     And  platform  speak- 


120      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

ing  is  nothing  more  than  conversation  enlarged  j 
to  meet  the  demands  of  the  situation.  But 
until  the  speaker  has  acquired  ease  on  a  plat- 
form, his  variety  of  pitch  is  likely  to  be  lim- 
ited by  reason  of  his  inexperience.  The 
nervous  strain  which  public  speaking  pro- 
duces in  the  beginner  tends  to  stiffen  the  voice, 
heighten  the  pitch,  and  narrow  the  range. 
But  until  the  student  has  overcome  the  handi- 
cap of  inexperience  he  can  be  aided  by  a  few 
concrete  directions. 

What  is  your  medium  pitch?  What  is  the 
range  of  your  speaking  voice?  Find  out  for 
yourself  by  delivering  the  following  interro- 
gation, first,  with  a  rising  and  second,  with  a 
falling  voice. 

"Do  we  want  to  see  the  fruits  of  victory 
destroyed  in  a  flood  of  anarchy?" 

Deliver  the  sentence  several  times  until  the 
first  and  last  words  strike  the  highest  and  the 
lowest  notes  of  your  register.  If  you  have 
taken  both  comfortably,  the  middle  is  your 
pitch.  That  is  the  pitch  you  use  in  ordinary 
conversation,  because  it  comes  with  the  least 
effort. 


PITCH  121 

The  necessity  of  being  heard  and  the  greater 
force  required  in  platform  speaking  demand 
that  we  use  a  pitch  a  trifle  higher  than  the  one 
used  in  conversation.  But  the  beginning 
speaker  opens  on  a  pitch  altogether  too  high. 
And  the  audience  detects  it  and  becomes  un- 
easy. 

Go  on  the  platform  with  a  firm  resolve  to 
begin  on  a  medium  pitch.  Whatever  the 
thought  of  your  opening  remarks,  you  will 
find  that  they  can  best  be  expressed  in  a  medi- 
um tone.  As  an  aid  in  carrying  out  the  reso- 
lution, look  squarely  into  the  eyes  of  some 
member  of  the  audience  seated  near  you. 
Such  a  practice  brings  you  nearer  the  conver- 
sational style  and  pitch,  and  is  an  effective 
means  of  increasing  naturalness  and  self- 
confidence. 

As  the  speech  proceeds,  you  will  find  that 
the  increasing  interest,  both  of  yourself  and 
of  the  audience,  tends  to  raise  the  pitch.  Un- 
less this  tendency  is  checked,  your  voice  will 
soar  until  it  reaches  the  highest  point.  For 
that  reason,  it  is  well  to  mark  some  point  in 
your  speech,  before  its  delivery,  where  you 


\ 


122      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

may  lower  the  voice  to  a  conversational  tone. 
Many  speakers  handicapped  by  a  highly 
strung  nervous  system  and  a  consequent  high 
pitch  have  employed  this  means  with  remark- 
able results. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

RATE 

Rate,  the  speed  of  speaking,  has  a  close 
affinity  with  pitch,  both  in  degree  and  variety. 
Usually  thoughts  or  feelings  calling  for  a 
high  pitch  should  be  delivered  at  a  high  rate, 
while  those  fitting  a  low  pitch  demand  a  slow 
rate. 

Variety  of  rate  is  important  not  only  as  a 
means  of  contrasting  thoughts  or  emphasizing 
the  relative  importance  of  ideas,  but  also  as 
an  antidote  of  monotonous  delivery.  As  with 
pitch,  the  beginning  speaker  must  overcome 
the  tendency  toward  sameness. 

The  value  of  change  of  rate  as  a  means  of 
focusing  the  attention  of  the  audience  on  cer- 
tain words  has  been  mentioned  under  empha- 
sis. As  the  sight-seeing  motor  car,  speeding 
past  commonplace  dwellings,  slows  up  while 
passing  points  of  interest,  so  must  the  speaker 
decrease  his  rate  not  only  to  call  attention  to 
the  centers  of  thought  but  to  enable  the  audi- 
ence to  appreciate  them. 
[123] 


124      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

Whether  because  of  nervousness  or  a  fear 
that  unless  the  audience  is  engaged  by  a  rapid- 
fire  of  language,  it  will  lose  interest,  the  in- 
experienced speaker  often  enters  into  a  race 
with  time.  Such  a  practice  exhibits  a  lack  of 
self-confidence  and  the  audience  takes  you  at 
your  own  valuation.  On  the  other  hand,  a 
slow,  measured  delivery  is  evidence  of  a  poise 
and  a  dignity  that  always  attract  attention 
and  respect. 

The  thought  and  feeling  should,  of  course, 
determine  the  rate.  Most  speakers,  excepting 
those  handicapped  by  a  limited  vocabulary, 
find  it  easy  to  talk  quickly.  But  few  have 
learned  the  art  of  using  a  slow  rate.  When 
experience  has  developed  confidence  and  con- 
centration on  the  platform,  the  speaker's 
instincts  will  vary  his  rate  according  to  the 
thought.  The  beginner  can,  however,  gain 
some  of  the  benefits  of  appropriate  rate  by 
holding  himself  down  at  the  beginning  of  his 
speech.  With  some  this  is  almost  as  difficult 
as  holding  in  check  a  restless  horse.  So  we 
must  devise  aids. 

First,  begin  with  a  clean-cut  enunciation, 


RATE  ' 125 

prolonging  the  vowels  as  you  did  in  reading 
the  passage  from  Roosevelt's  speech  in  the 
chapter  on  enunciation.  You  cannot  make  an 
effort  in  this  direction  without  bringing  your 
rate  near  the  noraial.  Don't  try  to  gain  this 
end  merely  by  pausing  between  words  —  a 
common  habit  with  some  —  for  that  merely 
makes  the  delivery  jerky.  Lengthen  the  itali- 
cized vowels  in  the  following  sentence  and 
note  the  effect  on  the  rate; 

"Over  the  hill  arose  the  tall,  gaunt  form  of 
Joseph." 

Second,  focus  your  attention  on  the  eyes  of 
someone  seated  near  the  platform.  As  in 
pitch,  the  effect  of  this  is  to  bring  the  rate 
down  to  that  used  in  ordinary  conversation. 

Pause  has  been  mentioned  in  a  previous 
chapter  as  a  means  of  emphasizing  certain 
words  or  phrases.  Every  expressed  thought 
sets  in  motion  a  chain  of  thought  in  the  minds 
of  the  hearers.  If  you  want  a  sentence  to 
"sink  in,"  pause  after  it.  The  silence  is 
golden  because  it  permits  the  thought  to  run 
its  course  unchecked  by  the  necessity  of  aban- 
doning  it   for   succeeding   ideas.      Note   the 


126      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

effect  gained  by  pausing  after  the  italicized 
words  in  the  following  passage  from  Emerson: 
"Our  strength  grows  out  of  our  weaknesses. 
Not  until  we  are  pricked  and  stung  and  sorely- 
shot  at,  awakens  the  indignation  which  arms 
itself  with  secret  force.  A  great  man  is  always 
willing  to  be  little.  Whilst  he  sits  on  the 
cushion  of  advantages,  he  goes  to  sleep.  When 
he  is  pushed,  tormented,  defeated,  he  has  a 
chance  to  learn  something;  he  has  been  put  on 
his  wits,  on  his  manhood;  he  has  gained  facts; 
learns  his  ignorance;  is  cured  of  the  insanity 
of  conceit;  has  got  moderation  and  real  skill." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE 

Modern  writers  on  salesmanship  make 
much  of  the  value  of  engaging  all  the  senses 
of  the  prospective  buyer.  The  shoe  salesman, 
for  instance,  is  taught  to  put  his  sample  into 
the  customer's  hands  in  order  that  the  senses 
of  sight,  touch  and  perhaps  smell  may  be 
utilized  as  well  as  the  hearing.  The  reasoning 
back  of  this  practice  is  very  simple.  The  five 
senses  are  the  only  channels  from  the  outside 
world  to  the  brain.  They  vary,  of  course,  in 
their  powers  of  engaging  the  attention.  But 
if  they  are  all  focused  on  one  object,  the 
chances  of  distraction  are  reduced  to  a  mini- 
mum. Each  additional  sense  that  is  called 
into  action  increases  the  strength  of  the  im- 
pression made  upon  the  brain  of  the  customer. 

Applying  this  theory  to  speaking,  we  find 

that  there  are  but  two  senses  through  which 

the  speaker  can  send  him  a  message — hearing 

and  sight.    The  preceding  chapters  on  delivery 

[127] 


128      ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

have  dealt  with  those  phases  of  speaking  that 
concern  the  ear.    We  now  come  to  the  eye. 

Imagine,  if  you  can,  "The  Merchant  of 
Venice"  presented  on  a  darkened  stage.  How 
long  could  Sir  Henry  Irving  or  Ellen  Terry 
have  held  your  interest  and  attention  under 
such  circumstances?  Then  think  of  the  num- 
ber of  hours  you  have  enjoyed  the  silent  art 
of  Mary  Pickford  or  Douglas  Fairbanks.  The 
eye  has  a  much  stronger  hold  on  the  attention 
than  the  ear.  "If  the  eye  do  not  admire,  the 
heart  will  not  desire." 

Long  before  primitive  man  developed  an 
auditory  language  he  communicated  with 
others  by  means  of  signs.  Relying  almost 
wholly  on  visual  language,  he  developed  it  to 
a  high  degree.  And  in  spite  of  the  cultivation 
of  speech,  the  visual  appeal  is  still  the  more 
potent  of  the  two.  A  frown  is  much  more 
eloquent  in  meaning  than  any  words  into  which 
it  might  be  translated;  a  finger  pointed  toward 
a  door  is  more  expressive  than  "Go";  a  smile 
produces  more  results  than  any  equivalent  in 
speech. 

Modern  life  tends  to  develop  to  the  highest 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE         *    129 

degree  this  vehicle  of  thought.  The  nerves 
from  the  eye  to  the  brain  are  shorter  than 
those  from  the  ear.  The  message  sent  over 
the  visual  wire  is  delivered  and  understood 
long  before  the  auditory  telegram  is  recorded. 
Entertainment  through  the  cinema,  propa- 
ganda through  the  printed  circular,  advertis- 
ing by  electric  signs — all  bear  testimony  to 
the  strength  of  the  visual.  Its  constant  use 
has  developed  the  sense  of  sight  to  enormous 
proportions.  The  eye  is  a  hungry  animal, 
ever  seeking  f ood .  The  speaker  must  satisfy  it. 
Let  us  consider  all  speaking  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  eye.  Let  us  analyze  the  situation 
for  the  purpose  of  making  the  visual  appeal 
as  strong  as  possible. 

Distractions 

Many  an  unattractive  waiter  clearing  away 
the  debris  of  a  dinner  has  captured  the  atten- 
tion of  an  audience;  many  a  conscientious  jan- 
itor moving  noiselessly  around  an  auditorium 
to  open  the  windows  has  drawn  the  focus  from 
the  speaker  to  himself.  There  is  something 
pitiful  about  the  way  in  which  an  audience 


I 


130       ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

will  turn  its  eyes  from  a  distinguished  orator 
to  watch  the  motions  of  an  usher,  a  latecomer 
or  a  stray  dog.  No  speaker  can  compete  suc- 
cessfully with  counter  attractions;  no  speaker 
of  experience  wants  to  try.  When  such  a  dis- 
traction enters  the  field,  the  skilful  speaker 
attempts  to  join  forces  with  it.  While  Bourke 
Cockran  was  addressing  an  audience  on  "The 
World  War"  in  1916,  a  man  in  the  gallery 
interrupted  with  "What  about  the  United 
States?"  The  speaker  ignored  the  question 
until  he  saw  that  the  heckler  had  become  a 
center  of  visual  interest.  Then  he  interpolated, 
"The  United  States  is  only  part  of  the  world, 
New  York  is  only  a  part  of  the  United  States, 
and  that  man  is  only  a  very  small  part  of 
New  York." 

The  first  problem,  then,  is  to  eliminate  as 
far  as  possible  all  competing  attractions.  The 
platform  should  be  free  from  all  objects  that 
have  any  visual  appeal.  Many  a  prominent 
speaker  has  been  handicapped  by  a  group  of 
individuals  seated  on  the  stage.  The  slightest 
movement  of  the  hands,  the  shifting  of  knees, 
the  occasional  nod  of  approval — all  tend  to 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE       '      131 

draw  the  eyes  of  the  audience  from  the 
speaker.  If  you  are  able  to  stipulate  the 
conditions  under  which  you  will  make  your 
address,  be  sure  to  name  a  setting  in  which 
you  will  be  the  only  attracting  object. 

The  next  consideration  is  the  appearance  of 
the  speaker.  In  order  to  focus  the  eyes  on 
the  face — the  only  proper  place — no  other 
part  of  the  body  should  attract  attention.  It 
has  often  been  said  that  the  best  dressed  man 
is  the  one  whose  clothes  are  never  noticed. 
But  the  proper  appearance  of  a  speaker  means 
more  than  putting  aside  the  checkerboard  vest 
and  the  bright  green  socks,  or  keeping  a  crease 
in  the  trousers  and  out  of  the  sleeves.  A  news- 
paper or  note-book  protruding  from  a  pocket 
or  a  visible  pen  or  pencil  is  almost  as  danger- 
ous as  a  noisy  necktie. 

The  First  Impression 

Nearly  every  living  man  who  heard  Lincoln 
testifies  to  the  great  handicap  under  which 
the  Emancipator  spoke.  Tall  and  awkward, 
his  clothes  misfitted  and  baggy,  the  author  of 
the  greatest  short  speech  in  American  history 


132       ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

made  a  poor  first  impression,  which  was  never 
completely  removed  until  some  time  after  he 
had  begun  speaking.  Daniel  Webster,  on  the 
other  hand,  with  his  huge  frame,  large  head 
and  coal  black  eyes,  gripped  his  audience  the 
moment  he  appeared.  His  contemporaries 
often  remarked  that  no  man  could  be  so  wise 
as  Webster  looked.  Few  of  us  are  blessed 
with  that  physical  attractiveness  that  reaches 
out  and  arrests  the  attention  of  those  who  be- 
hold us;  fewer  still  are  those  who  have  the 
resources  of  a  Lincoln  with  which  to  efface  a 
bad  first  impression.  But  every  man  can 
make  a  favorable  impression  at  the  start  if  he 
will  but  give  the  matter  the  required  consid- 
eration and  effort. 

Long  before  a  speaker  utters  a  word,  the 
audience  has  appraised  him  and  formed  an 
opinion.  What  are  the  bases  of  that  appraisal? 
The  attire  has  already  been  referred  to  as  a 
potential  distraction.  As  an  element  entering 
into  the  making  of  a  good  impression,  clothes 
serve  a  double  purpose.  If  a  speaker  is  well 
groomed — clean  linen,  creased  trousers  and 
shined  shoes — not  only  does  the  audience  ap- 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE       '       133 

prove  of  his  appearance,  but  it  also  gets  the 
benefit  of  the  increased  self-respect  and  dig- 
nity which  consciousness  of  a  neat  appearance 
produces  in  the  speaker. 

If  you  are  on  the  platform  before  you  are 
introduced,  maintain  an  easy  but  dignified 
position.  Every  little  movement  is  being 
watched  by  the  audience.  If  you  must  walk 
to  the  platform,  do  so  in  an  alert  but  measured 
manner,  with  no  unnecessary  movements  of 
the  arms,  head  or  body.  Two  or  three  deep 
breaths  will  do  much  to  quiet  the  nerves  and 
overcome  the  tendency  toward  haste. 

Self-consciousness  in  a  beginning  speaker 
often  manifests  itself  in  the  all-hands-and-feet 
sensation.  This  usually  results  in  the  speaker's 
throwing  all  his  weight  on  one  foot,  spreading 
his  legs,  folding  his  hands  in  front  or  behind 
or  putting  them  in  his  pockets.  All  these  man- 
nerisms can  be  avoided  if  you  but  focus  your 
attention  on  two  things — first,  keep  the  chest 
high;  second,  let  the  arms  hang  loosely  at  the 
sides  as  though  they  were  paralyzed. 

Have  you  ever  noticed  how  actors  and 
actresses  open  the  first  scene  in  a  quiet,  sub- 


134      ESSENTIALS  OF  PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

dued  voice?  No,  it  isn't  imagination.  That 
is  their  method  of  quieting  the  conversational- 
ists and  forcing  the  audience  to  sharpen  its 
attention.  Whether  or  not  your  audience  is 
noisy,  you  can  focus  the  attention  by  delaying 
your  speech  until  you  have  surveyed  every 
portion  of  the  room  in  that  "when  I  have  your 
attention"  manner.  That  little  pause  is  the 
most  effective  preface. 

Posture  and  Carriage 

The  next  time  you  walk  along  a  crowded 
thoroughfare,  notice  the  difference  between 
the  movements  of  individuals.  The  man  of 
ability  usually  reveals  his  power  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  carries  himself — head  erect, 
with  the  back  of  his  neck  pressed  against  his 
collar,  chin  in,  no  swinging  arms  or  swaying 
body,  each  step  measured  and  firm.  When 
he  stops  to  speak  with  another,  he  maintains 
an  erect,  dignified  posture  instead  of  settling 
in  a  heap  or  leaning  against  a  mail  box.  These 
characteristics  impress  you.  You  would  like 
to  do  business  with  that  man — he  has  your 
confidence  and  respect. 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE        '      135 

The  correct  posture  on  the  platform  is 
neither  a  slouch  nor  a  West  Point  "attention." 
But  the  latter  is  far  more  preferable  than  the 
former.  If  you  would  know  the  best  position 
of  the  body  in  speaking,  go  through  the  fol- 
lowing exercise: 

"Bend  forward  until  the  fingers  touch  the  toes 
(if  they  can).  Raise  and  stretch  the  arms  and 
trunk  slowly,  taking  a  deep  breath  at  the  same  time, 
imtil  your  arms,  head,  trunk  and  legs  form  one 
straight  line.  Do  not  raise  the  heels  from  the 
ground.  Keep  the  chest  high  while  you  stretch 
the  arms  backward  and  downward,  exhaling  slowly. 
When  the  little  finger  touches  your  trousers,  relax 
the  entire  arm  and  let  it  hang  lifeless  from  the 
shoulder." 

Such  a  posture  gives  an  impressive  bearing, 
facilitates  proper  breathing  and  gives  the 
greatest  freedom  of  movement. 

Every  student  has  seen  some  prominent 
speaker  put  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  fold  his 
arms  in  front  or  behind,  lean  on  a  table  or 
spread  his  legs.  In  addition  to  the  fact  that 
such  practices  detract  from  the  visual  attrac- 
tiveness of  the  speaker,  there  is  this  consider- 


136       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

ation — when  the  body  is  in  this  unnatural 
position,  the  speaker  must  go  through  the 
motions  of  untangling  himself  before  he  can 
gesture  or  change  his  position.  When  an 
orator  like  Chauncey  M.  Depew  speaks  with 
his  hands  in  his  coat  pockets,  it  may  seem 
hypercritical  to  condemn  the  practice.  Many 
an  instructor  has  been  told  so.  The  best 
answer  is  this — "Mr.  Student,  when  you  ac- 
quire the  ability  and  reputation  of  a  Depew, 
you  are  privileged  to  fold  your  arms,  play 
with  your  watch  chain  or  perform  any  other 
stunt  that  the  audience  will  stand  for.  But 
until  you  reach  that  eminence,  you  had  better 
watch  every  little  detail  of  propriety — you 
can't  afford  to  do  otherwise." 

A  speaker's  change  of  position  on  the  plat- 
form must  be  guided  by  good  judgment  and 
moderation.  He  should  not  stand  glued  in 
one  spot,  nor  should  he  walk  from  side  to  side 
like  a  caged  tiger  seeking  an  exit.  A  slight 
change  of  position  at  the  beginning  of  a  new 
turn  in  the  speech  breaks  the  monotony,  re- 
freshes the  audience  and  aids  the  speaker  in 
varying  his  pitch,  rate  and  force.    Rarely  is  it 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE      '       137 

desirable  to  walk  while  delivering  an  import- 
ant sentence.  The  action  at  this  time  merely 
detracts  and  makes  the  audience  restless. 

Gestures 

Gesticulation,  properly  speaking,  includes 
every  physical  movement  of  the  speaker  on 
the  platform.  But  we  are  using  it  here  in  its 
restricted  sense  —  movements  of  the  arms, 
head  and  body,  but  not  including  a  change 
of  position  or  facial  expression.  Everyone 
gestures  in  conversation;  the  toss  of  the  head 
and  the  outstretched  hand  are  as  natural  as 
the  dropping  of  the  voice  at  the  end  of  the 
sentence.  But  the  self-consciousness  that 
accompanies  speaking  in  public  tends  to  break 
the  connection  between  thought  and  physical 
expression.  The  first  task,  then,  is  to  re-estab- 
lish that  connection.  Force  the  blood  of  ex- 
pression into  the  arms.  Put  them  in  motion. 
At  first  it  might  seem  as  though  something 
inside  you  broke  loose.  Very  well,  that  only 
shows  that  you  need  more  of  it.  The  strange- 
ness will  soon  wear  off.  Don't  carry  it  to  the 
point  where  it  becomes  a  "babbling  of  the 


138       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

hands,"  but  if  your  trouble  is  an  entire  lack 
of  movement,  it  is  better  to  overdo  it  at  the 
start;  practice  will  teach  you  moderation  and 
good  taste. 

The  prime  purpose  of  gesticulation  is  to  aid 
the  audience  in  understanding  the  thought  and 
feeling  of  the  speaker.  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  if  the  gesture  is  to  serve  its  real  purpose, 
it  must  be  appropriate  and  fitting.  The  be- 
ginning speaker  frequently  develops  a  pet 
gesture  which  he  uses  for  everything  —  to 
denounce  the  Bolsheviks  and  to  praise  the 
virtues  of  women.  How  is  he  to  overcome 
the  habit?  By  eliminating  that  gesture?  No, 
the  only  solution  for  this  monotony  lies  in 
cultivating  others.  There  are  hundreds  and 
hundreds  of  gestures,  and  many  new  ones  are 
in  process  of  invention  while  this  is  being 
written.  But  as  all  musical  compositions  em- 
ploy the  same  scales  and  notes,  all  gestures 
may  be  classified  as  modifications  of  a  few 
standard  ones.  Some  of  these  are  given 
below.  Read  aloud  the  following  sentences 
and  then  deliver  them  with  the  appropriate 
gestures.     Practice  each  until  it  is  yours: 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE  139 

A. — ''Wait  a  minute,  I  haven  t  finished  my 
sentence/' 

(Arm  raised  in  front,  hand  open,  with  palm  facing  the 
audience.) 

B. — "If  you  sell  this  house,  where  shall 
I  go?" 

(Arms  stretched  out,  with  hands  open  and  at  the  level 
of  the  thigh,  palms  facing  the  audience.) 

C. — "Balboa  went  alone  to  the  summit  and 
out  before  him,  stretched  the  vast  horizon  of 
the  Pacific  J' 

(Right  arm  stretched  straight  from  the  shoulder,  palm 
down,  sweeping  from  left  to  right.) 

D. — "I  carry  no  'big  stick,'  but  I  have  a 
big  fist  and  I  intend  to  use  it.'' 

(Clenched  fist  agitated  on  level  with  shoulder,  back  of 
hand  facing  the  audience.) 

E. — If  you  re-elect  him  Mayor,  you  and  you 
and  you  will  suffer."     ^• 

(Arm  stretched  out,  index  finger  pointing  toward  a 
member  of  the  audience.  Change  its  direction  on  each  you. 
This  is  the  so-called  schoolmaster  gesture.) 

F. — "At  first  he  merely  became  indifferent, 
but  with  the  loss  of  his  position  and  his  fam- 
ily, he  sank — down,  down,  down,  until  he 
reached  the  gutter  of  despair." 

(Arm  stretched  midway  between  the  front  and  the  side, 
hand  with  palm  up  on  a  level  with  the  thigh.  Lower  the 
arm  and  hand  on  each  succeeding  doivn  so  that  it  is  at  the 
side  on  the  word  despair.) 


140      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

G. — "Here  is  my  proposition.'' 

(Arm  bent,  hand  in  front  on  level  with  the  waist,  palm 
and  thumb  up.) 

H. — "That  sophistry  may  appeal  to  some, 
but  when  I  hear  a  man  use  that  argument,  I 
say,  ''Away  with  it!" 

(Right  arm  bent,  hand  on  level  with  chest,  with  palm 
facing  the  audience.    Thrust  it  to  the  right.) 

I. — "Shall  we  light  for  ourselves  or  throw 
up  our  hands  and  cry  'Help!'  " 

(Arms  bent,  with  hands  raised  at  the  side  and  above 
the  head,  fingers  apart  and  relaxed.) 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  you  will  execute 
these  gestures  with  Bryanesque  grace  or  Web- 
sterian  force.  But  practice  will  limber  up 
the  speaking  muscles,  tune  them  with  the 
voice,  and  soon  you  will  feel  at  home  with 
them  all,  flavoring  each  with  that  little  dash 
of  individuality  that  proclaims  you  a  creature 
of  God  and  not  an  adding  machine. 

In  executing  a  gesture,  keep  a  firm  control 
over  every  muscle.  A  sloppy,  careless  move- 
ment is  never  an  ornament.  Many  inexperi- 
enced speakers  deliver  a  gesture  too  soon, 
dropping  the  hand  before  completing  the 
words  it  is  intended  to  accompany.     Hold  it 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE        '     141 

right  through  and,  if  appropriate,  a  few  sec- 
onds after  the  sound  has  died  from  your  lips. 
Movements  of  the  head  and  body  should 
be  used  sparingly.  A  toss  of  the  head  may 
be  very  eloquent,  but  if  used  frequently  it 
destroys  the  reputation  for  dignity  and  self- 
control.  The  same  is  true  of  the  trunk.  The 
speaker  should  never  permit  a  movement  of 
the  arm  to  sway  the  body;  the  tail  should  not 
wag  the  dog. 

Facial  Expression 

"As  the  language  of  the  face  is  universal,  so  'tis 
very  comprehensive;  'tis  the  shorthand  of  the  mind 
and  crowds  a  great  deal  in  a  little  room." 

— Jeremy  Collier. 

Some  of  our  greatest  living  actors  are 
failures  in  the  movies.  Why?  Principally 
because  the  speaking  body  has  not  been  devel- 
oped to  the  point  where  it  can  express  all  the 
fine  shades  of  thought  and  feeling  without  the 
aid  of  the  voice.  Perhaps  the  greatest  asset 
in  the  cinema  is  facial  expression.  But  its 
appeal  is  just  as  strong  on  the  platform  as  it 
is  on  the  screen. 


142       ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

Little  movements  of  the  eyes  and  mouth 
are  constantly  employed  in  conversation,  both 
to  color  our  words  or  to  take  the  place  of  them. 
But  the  nerves  which  connect  them  with  the 
centers  of  thought  and  feeling  seem  to  suffer  a 
complete  paralysis  on  the  platform.  The  re- 
sult, in  the  beginning  speaker,  is  sometimes  a 
"poker  face." 

You  know  how  unsatisfactory  it  is  to  hold 
a  conversation  in  the  dark.  The  reason  is  that 
you  have  been  accustomed  to  use  your  eyes 
as  well  as  your  ears  in  interpreting  remarks. 
The  audience  looks  for  the  same  little  facial 
movements  in  a  speaker,  and  if  you  can  meet 
the  demand,  you  have  another  weapon  with 
which  to  enchain  the  attention  and  to  strengthen 
the  impressiveness  of  your  delivery. 

What  is  the  remedy?  It  lies  in  strengthen- 
ing the  nerves  controlling  facial  movements 
to  the  point  where  they  cannot  be  paralyzed 
by  platform  sensations.  The  actor  exagger- 
ates his  smile  and  sneer;  the  speaker  must  do 
likewise.  Limber  up  the  muscles  of  the  face. 
The  next  time  you  attend  the  movies,  follow 
in  mimicry  every  little  movement  of  the  eye 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE  143 

and  mouth.  It  will  soon  become  a  habit.  Then 
when  you  go  upon  the  platform,  you  can  forget 
all  about  it — it  will  have  become  as  natural 
as  breathing  in  sleep. 

The  Speaking  Body 

As  previously  stated,  a  physical  movement 
is  much  more  eloquent  than  language.  A 
shrug  of  the  shoulders,  a  raising  of  the  eye- 
brows, a  snapping  of  the  fingers,  may  express 
an  idea  more  accurately  and  forcefully  than 
the  finest  figure  of  speech.  Bryan  is  never 
more  eloquent  than  when  he  ends  a  sentence 
with  a  pause  followed  by  some  graceful  move- 
ment of  the  hand. 

A  class  in  public  speaking  was  once  sent  to 
hear  Wendell  Phillips.  The  next  day  the  in- 
structor asked  each  man  to  write  a  criticism 
of  Phillips's  gestures.  The  results  might  have 
indicated  that  they  didn't  attend.  But  the  truth 
was  they  couldn't  remember  anything  about 
his  gestures.  Why?  Because  the  speaker's 
art  was  so  highly  perfected  that  each  physical 
movement  lost  its  identity  in  the  unity  of  his 
delivery  and  the  resulting  singleness  of  im- 


144       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

pression.  Any  gesture  or  bodily  movement 
which  calls  attention  to  itself  is  a  distraction 
rather  than  an  aid. 

We  know  when  our  voices  crack;  our  ears 
tell  us.  We  cannot  see  ourselves  as  we  appear 
before  an  audience.  But  we  can  get  a  fair 
idea  of  our  visual  appeal  by  using  a  contriv- 
ance quite  common  among  finished  orators. 
Wendell  Phillips,  Edward  Everett  and  Lord 
Mansfield  used  to  rehearse  for  hours  before 
a  silent  critic — the  mirror.  That  may  strike 
you  as  carrying  the  matter  too  far.  But  every- 
thing has  its  price  and  the  man  who  would 
carry  his  art  to  the  goal  of  perfection  must 
pay  the  freight. 

Not  many  years  ago  students  of  psychology 
were  stirred  by  a  new  theory  of  the  emotions 
enunciated  simultaneously  by  Professors  Will- 
iam James,  of  Harvard,  and  Carl  Lange,  of 
Copenhagen.  In  brief,  the  theory  holds  that 
the  bodily  changes  that  accompany  certain 
emotions  are  not  in  reality  the  resulting  ex- 
pressions of  the  emotions,  but  the  causes  of 
them.  The  theory  has  gained  almost  universal 
acceptance,  although  some  psychologists  still 


THE  EYE  OF  THE  AUDIENCE       '      145 

refuse  it.  But  whether  the  hen  or  the  egg 
came  first,  each  owes  its  existence  to  the  other 
and  the  specie  cannot  perpetuate  itself  without 
both.  When  the  speaker  expresses  his  anger 
by  shaking  his  clenched  fist,  the  physical  ex- 
pression, in  turn,  increases  the  anger.  And 
the  stronger  the  emotion  in  the  speaker  the 
easier  it  will  be  for  him  to  interpret  it  in 
delivery. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

MEMORY 

So  many  men  complain  of  bad  memory  as  an 
obstacle  to  their  development  as  speakers,  that 
a  brief  analysis  of  the  subject  and  its  applica- 
tion to  oral  discourse  ought  to  be  profitable. 

There  are  many  courses  on  memory  train-' 
ing.  They  all  accomplish  results,  they  all  vary 
in  methods,  but  they  all  rest  on  three  basic 
laws  - —  attention,  association  and  repetition. 
The  mere  understanding  of  these  laws  will 
not  cure  a  diseased  memory  but  it  will  give 
each  man  sufficient  knowledge  to  diagnose  his 
particular  case  with  a  view  to  finding  and 
strengthening  the  weak  link  in  the  chain. 

Attention 

Lord  Chesterfield  once  said,  "The  power  of 
applying  attention,  steady  and  undissipated, 
to  a  single  object,  is  the  sure  mark  of  a  supe- 
rior genius."  Whether  or  not  you  possess  this 
powder  to  a   superior  degree,   it  requires  no 

[146]. 


MEMORY  '  147 

argument  to  support  the  proposition  that  if 
you  would  remember  any  particular  fact  or 
idea,  you  must  make  sure  that  your  original 
grasp  of  the  fact  or  idea  is  as  clear  as  the 
impression  that  you  would  later  recall.  This 
means  that  you  must  focus  your  attention 
sufficiently  to  get  a  clean-cut  conception  of 
what  you  would  remember;  the  photographic 
print  does  not  grow  brighter  with  age,  neither 
does  the  picture  that  you  store  away  in  the 
recesses  of  memory. 

Association 

Assuming  that  you  have  a  clear  understand- 
ing of  what  you  would  remember,  where  in 
your  mental  storehouse  are  you  going  to  place 
this  information  or  idea?  Next  to  what  other 
facts  or  opinions  will  it  lie?  If  you  placed 
a  new  set  of  cooking  utensils  in  the  bedroom, 
it  is  not  unlikely  that  you  would  have  great 
difficulty  in  placing  your  hands  on  them  in  a 
hurry.  That  may  sound  ridiculous,  and  yet 
many  of  us  do  not  even  take  time  to  place 
newly  acquired  information  in  any  room  of 
the  mind. 


148       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

Napoleon  once  explained  his  marvelous 
memory  by  likening  his  mind  to  a  chest  of 
drawers,  with  everything  put  in  the  proper 
drawer  and  in  the  proper  place  in  that  drawer. 
Nothing  was  dismissed  from  his  consciousness 
until  it  had  been  assigned  to  its  proper  place. 

This  methodical  disposition  of  new  ideas 
and  knowledge  is  not  so  difficult  as  it  might 
seem.  The  main  thing  is  to  keep  the  matter 
in  the  foreground  of  your  mind  until  you  have 
assigned  it  a  place.  Dates  are  the  stumbling 
blocks  in  the  study  of  all  history.  But  see  what 
can  be  done  by  association.  Everyone  can 
remember  such  years  as  1492,  1776,  1861, 
and  1898.  Now  suppose  you  were  told  that 
the  Protestant  Reformation  began  with  Martin 
Luther's  revolt  in  1513.  A  few  seconds'  re- 
flection will  suggest  the  fact  that  the  latter 
event  took  place  exactly  twenty-one  years  after 
Columbus  landed  at  San  Domingo;  a  man 
born  in  the  year  of  Columbus's  discovery 
would  have  reached  his  majority  when  Luther 
defied  Pope  Leo  X.  You  will  probably  never 
forget  the  latter  date.  That  is  the  value  of 
association. 


MEMORY  '  149 

So-called  memory  experts  have  devised 
many  schemes  for  tying  together  various  facts 
so  that  by  getting  hold  of  one  the  others  follow 
like  the  links  of  a  chain.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  these  methods  produce  great  results.  But 
when  we  consider  how  artificial  they  are,  the 
time  it  takes  to  master  the  scheme,  and  the 
mental  energy  consumed  in  applying  the 
scheme,  it  does  seem  that  there  ought  to  be 
some  method  more  natural  and  more  condu- 
cive to  general  development  of  mind.  Most 
men  of  ability  and  wisdom  have  satisfactory 
memories.  Some  might  argue  that  the  secret 
of  their  success  was  memory.  But  it  is  more 
likely  that  their  good  memories  were  the  by- 
products of  their  ability  to  analyze  situations 
and  to  associate  the  various  component  parts 
with  other  facts  and  ideas  they  already  knew. 
Every  idea  has  attached  to  it  a  hundred  or 
more  strings,  if  we  will  only  turn  it  over  in 
our  minds  long  enough  to  see  it  from  every 
angle.  By  following  every  string  and  tying 
it  to  some  other  subject  to  which  it  naturally 
leads,  we  turn  this  floating  fact  or  idea  into  an 
immovable  buoy  in  our  memory. 


150       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

The  common  saying  so  often  heard,  "I  can 
remember  faces  but  not  names,"  is  simply  a 
testimonial  to  the  greater  force  of  the  visual 
as  compared  with  the  auditory.  Make  use  of 
this  greater  force  by  employing  pictures  as  a 
means  of  remembering.  Had  you  never  seen 
a  print  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  you  might  find 
it  difficult  to  recall  that  he  was  described  as 
tall  and  thin,  slightly  stooped,  and  with  thick, 
black  hair.  But  having  seen  his  picture,  you 
can  easily  remember  a  dozen  or  more  details 
of  his  appearance. 

Repetition 

The  eminent  authority  on  memory.  Dr. 
Buckley,  once  remarked  that  it  is  incorrect  to 
say  that  we  cannot  remember,  because  in  fact 
we  remember  nearly  everything.  If  you  doubt 
this  statement,  think  of  the  number  of  times 
that  a  friend  has  recalled  some  event  in  the 
distant  past  which,  until  he  recalled  it,  you 
thought  had  faded  completely  from  your 
memory.  Unless  he  recalled  it,  you  never 
would  have  been  able  to  bring  it  to  the  fore- 
ground of  your  mind.     This  proves  that  the 


MEMORY  ,        151 

weakness  lies  not  with  your  memory  but  with 
your  power  of  recollection.  And  this  weak- 
ness is  the  fatal  spot  in  the  so-called  bad 
memory. 

You  have  no  difficulty  in  recalling  your 
house  or  telephone  number.  Why?  Because 
you  have  occasion  to  recall  it  so  frequently 
that  it  becomes  engraved  on  your  mind.  Prac- 
tice, then,  or  repetition  of  the  act  of  recollec- 
ting is  the  secret  of  overcoming  this  weakness. 

Dr.  Buckley  prescribes  an  exercise  which, 
in  his  opinion,  should  develop  the  weakest 
memory.  Here  it  is:  after  getting  into  bed, 
trace  all  the  events  of  the  day  in  the  order  in 
which  they  occurred,  from  the  moment  of  aris- 
ing until  the  minute  of  retiring.  Half  a  dozen 
high  spots  will  stand  out,  the  rest  of  the  day 
will  be  screened  in  a  fog.  But  persistent 
effort  will  bring  forth  one  or  more  events  in 
each  blank  period  and  then  the  fog  will  lift 
and  you  will  recall  many  others.  This  exer- 
cise will  consume  about  five  minutes  the  first 
night,  but  within  two  weeks  you  will  be  able 
to  cover  the  day  in  one  or  two  minutes. 

The   poor  memory  of  which   the   speaker 


152       ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

complains  is  usually  due  to  one  or  more  of 
three  things :  ( 1 )  memorizing  the  speech  word 
for  word;  (2)  failure  to  assemble  the  material 
in  an  orderly  fashion  and  with  a  proper 
sequence,  and  (3)  insufficient  practice  in  go- 
ing over  orally  or  mentally  the  main  points  of 
the  speech. 

One  of  the  greatest  dangers  in  the  path  of 
the  beginning  speaker  is  the  tempting  practice 
of  writing  out  a  speech  and  committing  it  to 
memory,  word  for  word.  It  is  like  the  drug 
habit — once  formed,  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  work  without  it.  So  many  arguments  can 
be  cited  against  it,  that  it  seems  like  a  waste 
of  time  to  dwell  on  the  evil.  But  men  will 
persist  in  using  this  apparent  harbor  of  refuge, 
and  for  that  reason,  some  of  the  disadvantages 
should  be  stated. 

First,  memorizing  a  speech  robs  you  of  one 
of  the  greatest  benefits  of  speaking — develop- 
ment of  the  ability  to  think  on  your  feet.  A 
child  can  memorize  an  oration,  but  it  takes  a 
man  to  turn  ideas  and  thoughts  into  effective 
language.  Frequently  a  man  will  say  to  him- 
self, "I  will  memorize  just  this  one  so  as  to 


MEMORY  '      153 

be  sure  it  will  go  all  right,  but  I  won't  do  it 
after  this."  Well,  if  you  do  it  this  time,  the 
next  time  it  will  be  harder  to  speak  without  it. 
And  after  a  while  you  will  need  it  as  badly 
as  a  one-legged  man  needs  a  crutch. 

Second,  unless  you  are  a  skilled  actor,  you 
cannot  speak  from  a  memorized  version  and 
keep  the  fact  from  the  audience.  What  do 
you  think  of  a  speaker  when  you  learn  that  he 
has  committed  his  talk  to  memory? 

Third,  talking  from  memory  transfers  the 
mental  focus  from  the  life  and  spirit  of  your 
subject  to  the  cold  word.  The  result  is  a  life- 
less delivery. 

Fourth,  you  run  the  danger  of  forgetting  the 
exact  language  you  had  decided  upon,  and 
that  may  be  fatal. 

If  the  speaker  has  assembled  his  material  in 
some  orderly  fashion  and  has  run  over  in  his 
mind  the  outline  a  half  dozen  times,  there  is 
little  danger  of  his  forgetting  it.  Sometimes, 
however,  a  long  speech  which  necessarily  cov- 
ers a  variety  of  ideas  is  difficult  to  hold  in 
mind  without  some  scheme.  What  is  the  solu- 
tion?    We  eliminate  the  practice  of  carrying 


154       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

notes  in  the  hand — no  experienced  speaker 
does  it.  The  best  method  is  to  summarize 
each  heading  or  paragraph  into  a  word  and 
then  construct  a  sentence  embodying  all  the 
descriptive  words.  Suppose  you  outline  a 
speech  on  prohibition  in  this  fashion: 

PROHIBITION  IS  A  SUCCESS 

1.  Average  workingman's  family  is  better  pro- 
vided for. 

2.  Jails  harbor  fewer  persons. 

3.  Alcoholic  Diseases  are  decreasing. 

4.  Enforcement  is  improving  every  day. 

5.  Rising  generation  is  not  beset  by  dangers  of 
intemperance. 

Each  of  the  five  headings  might  be  summar- 
ized in  one  word  which  will  suggest  the  whole 
idea: 

1.  Workingman. 

2.  Jails. 

3.  Diseases. 

4.  Enforcement. 

5.  Youth. 

Putting  these  into  a  sentence  we  get  "Work- 
ingman jails  diseases  enforcing  youth."  True, 
it  doesn't  make  any  sense,  but  it  is  easily 


MEMORY  '  155 

remembered,   and   remembered,   it  gives   the 
key  to  each  part  of  the  speech. 

Another  method  is  the  visual  one — a  favo- 
rite with  Mark  Twain.  Construct  a  picture  of 
each  heading  in  which  some  part  will  suggest 
the  succeeding  picture.  Or  imagine  a  series 
of  actions  in  which  the  chronology  will  give 
you  the  order  of  ideas,  for  instance:  "a  brick- 
layer (workingman)  walks  into  a  jail,  and 
finds  a  diseased  man  forcing  a  youth  to  drink." 
Ridiculous?  Of  course,  but  try  it  and  see 
how  well  it  works. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

HEALTH  AND  VOICE 

Health  and  Speaking 

"I  don't  know  why  I  couldn't  put  that  speech 
across  tonight;  it  went  fine  in  practice."  Many- 
times  has  that  complaint  been  made  to  an 
instructor.  How  often  does  he  inquire  about 
the  speaker's  health? 

The  activity  of  speaking  is  a  strenuous  one. 
It  requires  accurate  co-ordination  of  nearly 
every  part  of  the  body  and  brain.  If  poor 
health  in  any  way  affects  the  delicate  mech- 
anism of  either,  the  speaking  will  suffer. 

Nearly  all  our  great  orators  have  been  men 
of  strong  physique — Webster  was  a  lion  in 
strength;  Lincoln  was  a  champion  wrestler  in 
his  teens;  Bryan  and  Roosevelt  amazed  the 
country  by  their  strenuous  campaigns  for 
office.  Unless  you  are  preparing  to  wage  a 
political  battle  from  the  stump,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  you  possess  a  bull-dog  constitution. 
But  to  do  your  best  on  any  given  occasion,  it  is 
[156] 


HEALTH  AND  VOICE  157 

imperative  that  your  condition  be  good,  with 
every  organ  functioning  properly. 

Care  of  the  Body 

Every  man  who  has  given  the  slightest  atten- 
tion to  his  health  has  learned  long  before 
maturity  the  peculiarities  of  his  own  body. 
He  knows  all  his  strength  and  weakness,  and 
if  he  follows  the  advice  which  his  own  experi- 
ence has  formulated,  he  will  probably  keep 
himself  fit.  Nevertheless,  it  is  well  to  call 
attention  to  a  few  points  concerning  health. 

Most  of  our  ills  arise  from  alimentary 
causes.  When  a  man  takes  good  care  of  his 
stomach,  his  doctor's  bills  are  usually  small. 
Eat  only  such  foods  as  are  easily  digested; 
cultivate  the  habit  of  chewing  it  thoroughly. 
The  less  liquid  drunk  with  meals  the  better. 
Keep  the  bowels  open. 

A  strong  nervous  system — very  desirable  to 
every  speaker — feeds  on  muscular  exercise. 
You  may  pride  yourself  on  your  health  in 
spite  of  soft  muscles,  but  when  you  take  the 
platform  you  will  find  that  the  art  is  not  a 
part  of  sedentary  life.     Get  up  five  minutes 


158      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

earlier  tomorrow  morning  and  go  through  two 
or  three  sets  of  exercises  before  dressing. 
Keep  this  up  for  a  week  and  note  the  effect 
on  your  thinking  and  contentment. 

How  much  do  you  smoke?  Do  you  crave 
for  tobacco  at  certain  intervals?  If  you  do,  it 
is  a  sure  sign  that  you  are  indulging  to  excess. 
Aside  from  the  fact  that  it  injures  the  throat 
and  other  parts  of  the  vocal  mechanism,  ex- 
cessive smoking  decreases  appetite,  impairs 
digestion  and  destroys  that  fine  nervous  con- 
trol which  is  so  essential  to  effective  speaking. 

Colds,  heavy  or  slight,  have  a  pernicious 
effect  on  the  proper  functioning  of  the  various 
parts  of  the  body.  Nearly  all  colds  begin  in 
the  throat.  A  simple  prevention  has  enabled 
many  men  to  overcome  chronic  colds.  When 
you  rise  in  the  morning,  exercise  the  muscles 
of  your  neck  for  one  or  two  minutes.  Roll  it 
around,  bend  it  in  every  direction — it  won't 
break.  After  your  bath,  dash  cold  water  on 
your  neck  and  chest.  This  daily  practice  will 
increase  the  resisting  power  of  your  throat  to 
the  point  where  it  will  stand  the  most  inclement 
weather. 


HEALTH  AND  VOICE  ^         159 

Breathing 

Have  you  ever  noticed  that  opera  singers 
are  usually  well  developed,  radiate  health  and 
have  a  superabundance  of  energy?  And  what 
is  more,  they  live  to  a  ripe  old  age.  What  is 
the  reason? 

In  ordinary  breathing  we  use  about  ten  per 
cent  of  the  capacity  of  the  lungs.  In  singing 
and  in  deep  breathing  all  the  little  cells  are 
filled,  each  extracts  the  oxygen  from  the  air 
and  gives  it  to  the  blood.  The  blood  carries 
the  nourishment  to  every  part  of  the  body. 
You  know  the  result.  "A  hundred  deep 
breaths  a  day  keeps  the  germs  of  TB  away," 
is  one  physician's  favorite  prescription.  But 
before  discussing  further  the  subject  of  breath- 
ing, let  us  consider  the  organs  used  in  breath- 
ing and  speaking. 

The  trunk  is  divided  into  two  large  cavities, 
the  abdomen  and  the  chest.  In  the  abdominal 
cavity  are  the  stomach,  liver,  intestines,  and 
other  organs ;  the  heart  and  lungs  fill  the  chest 
cavity.  The  two  cavities  are  separated  by  a 
sheet  of  strong  muscle  called  the  diaphragm. 


160      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC  SPEAKING 

This  partition,  the  seat  of  breath  control,  is 
shaped  like  a  saucer  turned  upside  down. 
When  the  lungs  are  filled,  this  muscular  tissue 
flattens  and  presses  out  the  ribs  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  massages  the  liver  and  stomach. 
On  the  roof  of  the  diaphragm  rests  the  base  of 
the  lungs.  The  lungs,  larger  at  the  bottom 
than  at  the  top,  where  their  expansion  is  lim- 
ited, are  composed  of  innumerable  cells  con- 
nected with  the  windpipe  by  bronchial  tubes. 
What  we  call  the  "Adam's  apple"  is  the 
larynx,  or  "voice  box,"  which  tops  the  wind- 
pipe. Across  the  opening  (glottis)  at  the  top 
of  the  "voice  box"  are  stretched  membranes. 
The  air  from  the  lungs  passing  over  these 
membranes  causes  them  to  vibrate  and  pro- 
duce sound,  just  as  the  violinist's  bow  brings 
fordi  music  by  oscillating  the  strings.  These 
membranes  may  be  tightened  or  slackened, 
the  first  to  produce  a  high  and  the  second  a 
low  pitch.  The  proper  functioning  of  these 
membranes  is  impeded  by  any  tension  of  the 
muscles  of  the  throat.  The  sound  produced 
by  the  vibration  of  these  vocal  cords  flows 
upward  until  it  reaches  the  base  of  the  mouth. 


HEALTH  AND  VOICE  161 

There  some  of  it  passes  into  the  mouth  and 
some  of  it  into  the  nasal  cavity.  Both  cavities 
act  as  sounding  boards  or  amplifiers.  The 
soft  palate,  the  tongue  working  with  the  teeth, 
and  the  lips  transform  the  sound  into  speech, 
while  the  nasal  cavity  gives  it  volume  and  ring. 

In  order  to  produce  the  best  quality  of  tone, 
it  is  necessary  that  the  air  be  plentiful.  Deep 
or  diaphragmatic  breathing  fills  the  lungs 
from  the  bottom  up,  gives  an  adequate  support 
to  the  voice  and  relieves  the  muscles  of  the 
throat  of  the  necessity  of  straining  to  produce 
sufficient  vocal  volume.  It  physics  the  lungs, 
tones  the  nervous  system  and  increases  the 
physical  and  mental  energy. 

Once  formed,  the  habit  of  deep  breathing 
becomes  stronger  than  any  desire  for  artificial 
stimulant.  Open  your  window,  then  go  through 
the  following  exercise: 

"Stand  erect  with  head  and  chest  high, 
abdomen  in,  balancing  the  weight  on  the  balls 
(not  the  heels)  of  the  feet.  Drive  all  the  air 
out  of  the  lungs,  keeping  the  chest  as  high  as 
possible.  Inhale  slowly  through  the  nose 
(keep  the  mouth  closed),  sending  the  air  to 


162       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

the  bottom  of  the  lungs.  Do  not  raise  the 
shoulders.  When  you  have  filled  the  lungs  to 
the  fullest  capacity,  do  not  hold  the  air,  but 
exhale  slowly  through  the  nose  and  mouth,  the 
jaw  relaxed." 

Breath  control  is  just  as  essential  to  the 
speaker  as  to  the  singer.  In  order  to  develop 
that  control,  repeat  the  above  exercise,  with 
this  modification  —  while  exhaling,  hold  a 
lighted  candle  before  the  mouth;  practice  ex- 
haling so  steadily  that  the  flame  of  the  candle 
will  assume  a  fixed  angle.  Then  go  through 
the  same  exercise,  exhaling  so  slowly  that  the 
flame  will  not  flicker  at  all.  A  substitute  for 
these  exercises  is  the  practice  of  slow  breath- 
ing while  walking.  When  you  leave  your 
home  in  the  morning,  time  your  inhaling  and 
exhaling  so  that  each  will  be  measured  by  six 
steps.  The  next  morning  increase  it  to  eight. 
On  the  third,  try  ten. 

Voice 

Mend  your  speech  a  little 

Lest  you  may  mar  your  fortune. 

John  T.  Morse,  Jr.,  in  his  life  of  Jeff'erson, 
writes  that  the  weakness  of  Jeff'erson's  voice, 


HEALTH  AND  VOICE  163 

more  than  any  other  thing,  prevented  him 
from  becoming  successful  in  trial  work. 
Henry  Clay,  on  the  other  hand,  was  a  great 
advocate,  one  of  the  chief  reasons  being  that 
he  had  a  voice  that  was  marvelously  musical 
and  of  rare  power. 

If  you  think  that  your  voice  is  as  unchange- 
able as  the  color  of  your  eyes,  you  are  wrong. 
The  greatest  orator  of  all  ages — Demosthenes 
— had,  in  his  youth,  a  weak,  raspy  voice.  And, 
what  was  worse,  he  had  an  impediment  in  his 
speech.  But  by  systematic  training,  which 
included  declaiming  by  the  seashore  with 
pebbles  in  his  mouth  and  talking  while  run- 
ning uphill,  he  developed  the  greatest  speak- 
ing voice  of  his  generation. 

In  approaching  the  subject  of  improving  the 
voice,  we  are  reminded  of  that  saying  so  com- 
mon among  the  Micawbers  of  this  day,  "Don't 
interfere  with  Nature."  Well,  we  are  not 
interfering  with  nature ;  we  are  merely  remov- 
ing the  obstructions  which  you  have  placed 
in  her  way.  Let  us  consider  a  few  phases  of 
vocalization. 

Faulty  enunciation  is  usually  the  result  of 


164       ESSENTIALS   OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

a  clumsy  tongue.  Nature  intended  that  this 
organ  should  perform  the  major  portion  of  the 
task.  But  man  spares  the  tongue  and  divides 
its  labor  among  the  muscles  of  the  throat,  the 
jaw  and  the  lips.  Distinct  enunciation  de- 
mands a  strong,  flexible  tongue  capable  of 
rapid  and  accurate  adjustment.  Strengthen  it 
by  rapid  exercises.  Pressing  the  tip  against 
the  top  of  the  lower  teeth,  roll  the  body  of  it 
out  between  the  lips.  Open  the  mouth  and 
wag  the  tongue  upward  and  downward.  Make 
it  curl  like  a  snail's  body.  Accurate  enuncia- 
tion is  often  a  function  of  the  proper  co-ordi- 
nation of  the  tongue  and  teeth.  The  Teuton 
thinks  he  cannot  pronounce  th — he  says  dis 
for  this.  If  he  would  but  watch  an  American 
place  his  tongue  against  the  upper  teeth,  he 
could  by  imitation  learn  to  enunciate  the  word 
in  less  than  five  minutes. 

The  success  of  Joseph  H.  Choate  as  a  trial 
lawyer  has  been  attributed  to  the  resonance 
of  his  voice.  No  juryman  could  go  to  sleep 
while  his  organ-like  voice  was  working.  You 
can  acquire  some  of  that  resonance  if  you  will 
but  make  use  of  the  human  sounding  board — 


HEALTH  AND  VOICE  165 

the  nasal  cavity.  That  undesirable  "twang" 
which  is  sometimes  called  "speaking  through 
the  nose"  is  the  result  of  preventing  the  pas- 
sage of  sound  through  the  nose.  When  we 
make  use  of  this  sounding  board,  the  result  is 
similar  to  that  of  talking  in  a  rain  barrel.  A 
great  deal  can  be  accomplished  in  this  direc- 
tion by  keeping  the  air  passages  connecting 
the  mouth,  nose  and  ears  free  from  obstruc- 
tions. Wax  in  the  ears  and  dust  in  the  nose 
and  nasal  cavity  rob  the  voice  of  the  bell-like 
ring  just  as  rags  in  a  cornet  muffle  its  tones. 
A  little  salt  and  water  gently  snuffed  up  in  the 
morning  and  a  weekly  application  of  warm 
water  and  soap  to  the  ears  will  be  of  great 
help  to  the  quality  of  resonance. 

You  have  seen  many  advertisements  setting 
forth  the  wonderful  powers  of  certain  lozenges 
and  throat  sprays.  If  half  of  the  testimonials 
written  by  opera  singers  are  true,  it  is  a 
wonder  how  many  of  them  find  time  to  do 
anything  but  try  cures  and  write  recommenda- 
tions. The  late  Dr.  H.  Holbrook  Curtis,  throat 
specialist,  was  consulted  by  nearly  all  the 
concert  singers  in  New  York  as  well  as  by 


166      ESSENTIALS  OF   PUBLIC   SPEAKING 

prominent  speakers  including  Roosevelt.  He 
usually  prescribed  voice  exercises,  the  most 
common  of  which  was  humming  the  scale  up 
and  down. 

Humming  is  an  excellent  practice  for  devel- 
oping resonance,  because  it  forces  the  air 
through  the  nasal  cavity.  Robert  J.  Hughes, 
the  voice  specialist,  prescribes  a  very  simple 
exercise  in  this  direction.  Take  a  deep  breath 
and  hum  "minim"  continuously,  prolonging 
the  m's  and  the  n's. 

That  harsh,  raspy  tone  of  voice,  which 
limits  the  success  of  so  many  business  as  well 
as  professional  men,  is  partially  due  to  forc- 
ing the  voice  from  the  throat  instead  of  relax- 
ing the  throat  and  supplying  the  energy  from 
the  lungs.  Never  speak,  on  or  off  the  plat- 
form, without  breath  support.  Think  of  this 
while  dictating  to  your  stenographer  or  tele- 
phoning, and  your  work  on  the  platform  will 
take  care  of  itself. 

Flexibility  of  voice — the  foundation  of 
modulation  and  inflection — can  be  acquired 
by  reading  aloud  poetry  and  verse.  Recite 
the  following  lines  on  Opportunity  by  Senator 


HEALTH  AND  VOICE  167 

Ingalls,  putting  into  its  delivery  all  the  sym- 
pathy you  possess: 

"Master  of  human  destinies  am  II  Fame, 
love  and  fortune  on  my  footsteps  wait.  Cities 
and  fields  I  walk:  I  penetrate  deserts  and 
fields  remote,  and  passing  by  hovel  and  mart 
and  palace,  soon  or  late  I  knock  unbidden  at 
every  gate!  If  sleeping,  wake;  if  feasting, 
rise  before  I  turn  away.  It  is  the  hour  of 
fate,  and  they  who  follow  me  reach  every  state 
mortals  desire,  and  conquer  every  foe  save 
death;  but  those  who  doubt  or  hesitate,  con- 
demned to  failure,  penury  and  woe,  seek  me 
in  vain  and  uselessly  implore.  I  answer  not 
and  return  no  more!" 


FINIS 


By  the  Same  Author 

"Hints  for  the 
Political  Speaker" 

112  pages — Cloth — $1.00  postpaid 

It  is  invaluable  to  the  ambitious 
public  speaker  who  is  desirous 
of  entering  the  realm  of  politics. 


C  It  gives  him  plainly  and  concisely  the  funda- 
mentals by  which  the  quality — the  correctness  or 
incorrectness  of  a  political  speech — is  construct- 
ively determined.  It  gives  him  "reasons."  He 
can  know  "why"  his  speech  is  good,  and  explain 
it;  or  "why"  it  is  bad,  and  improve  it.  Entire 
courses  of  instruction  in  public  speaking,  costing 
many  times  the  price  of  this  work,  are  based  on 
the  same  principles  which  are  so  fully  explained 
in  this  $1.00  book.     Why  should  you  pay  more? 


CHRIS.  F.  MEYER,  Publisher 

945  East  Third  Street  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

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